Kingdom of Drabbles
by Infamousplot
Summary: A series of Kingdom Hearts blips and drabbles I found lying around in my KH folder. Contains crossovers, humor, friendship and angst. Axel-centric, for the most part. Drabble the Eighteenth: After his world is destroyed by Heartless, Lea encounters Unversed for the first time.
1. Emotional Growth

**Okay, the last time I tried making a KH drabbles thing, it wasn't really drabbles... But I've been seeing a few Sonic drabble things around, and I realized "Hey, I have a bunch of random KH stuff lying around that I'm never going to use. Why not make a drabbles?" So I shall! :D And it'll be better than my stupid "Memories" thing, which I may just add to this. Thanks to everyone who reviewed Memories, by the way! Now, enjoy some angsty Axel thought process.**

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><p>The most difficult thing in the world, is having to feel something, when you don't have a heart to feel it with.<p>

There's this obnoxious little pull in the back of your mind, trying to remind you that 'This is how you're supposed to act.' When something good happened, he had to force himself to crack a smile. When something was wrong, his mind would tell him something about frowning, and so he'd make the corners of his mouth droop.

None of it was ever real. It was all forced, all his own doing. There was nothing spontaneous about the grins that crossed his face when talking with Saix, no piercing rage when he yelled at Xemnas. It was like a sad little shadow of the thing he used to feel. He was just going through the motions.

And then he'd come. With his big, stupid eyes and that stupid laugh that made him want to laugh along. It wasn't like all the other times, when people had laughed and he'd done it just because, well, that was what normal people did, and he was supposed to seem normal, right? No, when he- Roxas- laughed, it was more than just his memories saying "You Should Do This." He actually wanted to do it. A laugh would burst free, and every time it would surprise him, because it would happen without him even thinking about it.

And when Roxas had started bringing her to the Clock Tower- his stomach had tied into knots and his head had spun every time he talked about her. Xion this, Xion that, Xion Xion Xion. What about him? Didn't he matter?

Again, he hadn't thought about these memories of jealousy, of what it felt like to be replaced. He'd acted involuntarily, all because of that stupid zombie.

When he'd finally met her, when he'd finally gotten to know her, those memories of jealousy began to ebb away. His chest felt like it was glowing when he was with them. He didn't have to remember to smile or laugh when they said something he thought was funny. He didn't need to think, he just acted. And it was nice.

He liked being able to care. He liked laughing at stupid stuff and wasting his time up there on the Clock Tower. He didn't even mind the tugs of jealousy, the pangs of guilt or the stress that came along with the package. At least they were there.

All these years of living on the borders of life, of walking around as a husk, a shell; watching all the disasters of the world and not feeling _anything,_ and now, all of a sudden, it was all back. memories of happiness, of sorrow, of jealousy and humor and love- they were all back. Maybe they weren't real, but they sure felt real, and that was more than he could have asked for.

And then it had all come to a halt. A screeching, spiralling, inferno of a halt.

And he'd left. Left him here to wonder where he was, where he planned to go, what he planned to do. No real good bye, just a "Nobody would miss me." Except he would. He would.

Ever since he'd sat and watched him leave, let him leave without so much as a fight -he'd been sitting here and waiting as his insides swarmed with a terrible turmoil. These memories of feelings he'd come to love so much were turning into sludge, gnawing at the chasm in his chest. He felt empty. He felt an ache. He was heavy and sluggish, like he couldn't move. The thought of even getting up seemed like an impossible task to him.

No, actually... He could move. He could get up and walk off like nothing had happened, if he wanted to to. Just walk away. That was the thing though. He didn't want to. It felt like he could sit here forever, anchored to this one spot.

And for now, that was all he planned to do.

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><p><strong>This started out as a paragraph. See how I fleshed it out into his "emotional" growth through Days? :D<strong>

**Please review! ~x3**


	2. Enter, Roxas

**Thank you Bond and jcthegirl for your reviews! :D**

**Okay, once upon a time, I found the KH Days Manga. And after that I obsessively wrote about Days through Axel's POV. And I came up with these obscenely long, drabbly, and pretty much not that good... Things. This, this is one of them. I haven't read it in forever. I didn't even reread it to post it here. So... Enjoy? Maybe? **

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><p>"Axel." He turned upon instinct at the familiarity of the voice, just as he always had. The hooded figure glided closer, its strides silent as it approached.<p>

"Xemnas." Axel replied curtly, his voice full of respect rather than sarcasm as it usually was. "What brings you down here?" _Wanted to grace all us little people with your presence?_ The second part shriveled away as it rose up his throat, vanishing in the overwhelming presence of their leader.

The Nobody's golden eyes bore into him, prying silently at something Axel couldn't see.

"We have a new member amongst us." He finally spoke, stepping slowly aside, revealing the small humanoid being that was to be the 13th member of their organization.

It was a child. A young teenager, with sandy-blond, incredibly unruly hair. There wasn't anything impressive about him, from the dull, hazy look in his ocean-blue eyes, to the strange and utterly human outfit he wore. But he had a strange aura about him, something unsettling, something that Axel couldn't quite put a finger on.

"So, this is the elusive newbie that I've heard so little about?" Axel chided, looking the puny Nobody over from head to toe once more before returning his attention to Xemnas.

"This is Roxas. He is very important to our organization Axel. Do you know why?" Xemnas asked in his usual serious monotone, not letting any emotion -no matter how false -into his voice. Axel cocked his head and took a moment to study the boy again, still not finding anything unusual or special about him.

"Uhm, he's a child?" _With poor taste in clothing?_ He added silently, stifling a smirk as he eyed the boy's 'interesting' garments. Xemnas didn't respond, only eyed Axel with an air of impatience. Like he couldn't bear to stand here and waste his time with someone so impudent for a second longer. _Like I enjoy your company any better._ He snarled inwardly, gazing coolly back at his superior until he could stand his presence no longer. "Sorry boss, but unless you want to continue this staring contest any longer, then I think it would be best just to tell me why the kid's so important." He paid extra attention to his tone, making sure it sounded as serious and non-mocking as possible.

"Roxas has the ability to wield the Keyblade." Xemnas explained, not bothering to lash back at his inferior or give him the satisfaction of an irritated reaction. "He will be gathering hearts for the Organization." Axel stared blankly for a moment, unsure how he was expected to respond. Not that it mattered really -since when did he care how he was supposed to act? -But why was Xemnas bothering to tell him? It wasn't like he was that high up in the levels of the whole Organization. Other than playing the role as the assassin or the double agent for Saïx, his existence often seemed obsolete compared to those of the others. Not that he would ever let anyone know. He was proud of his existence one way or another, and he honestly didn't care about his rank, but still, what was Xemnas trying to get at?

Xemnas didn't seem keen on elaborating, and Axel could only handle his presence for so long.

"Is there any point to telling me about this? At all?" He snapped, crossing his arms and glaring at his superior. He felt a brief surge of what humans would call pride as rage flickered through Xemnas's golden eyes, but his leader showed no others signs of cracking.

"Axel, I am putting you in charge of watching him." He explained. Axel didn't respond, only gazed firmly at his leader, meanwhile his mind was reeling. He was supposed to look after the kid? Why him? "I want you to look after him until he gains more consciousness. Show him the ropes and make sure he doesn't kill himself by mistake." Xemnas scoffed, gently pushing the small Nobody toward him. The child -Roxas -stumbled forward clumsily, crashing into Axel and then tumbling a step back.

"I'm guessing I have no say in this?" Axel smirked; tugging Roxas upright and setting him back on balance. Xemnas didn't answer, just strode away.

"Take good care of him Axel. I'm counting on you." Xemnas called, disappearing with a flicker of what appeared to be darkened flames.

"Yeah, whatever." Axel grumbled, glancing down at Roxas -his newest chore. The Nobody was staring straight ahead, his gaze lost in space as he focused on a blank patch of nothingness. Waving a hand in front of his face, Axel was surprised to find that it had no affect on him. He just continued to stare, blanker than anything. "Hello? Earth to new guy?" He knocked gently on Roxas' head, still getting no response. _Wow, this kid is worse than anyone I've ever seen. What a zombie!_

"Alrighty then, you think you can follow me?" He asked cautiously, taking a few steps forward. Roxas didn't move, just kept on staring. _This is gonna get old fast._ Axel sighed, gliding over and turning the Nobody around, marching him forward. "C'mon, move your feet. Walk. Remember how to do that, at least?" He added on the 'at least' a bit hastily, hoping that the kid had held onto a few human memories. He had to remember how to walk though, right? That skill was something innate, wasn't it?

Thankfully, when he started moving on, Roxas followed behind, still staring into nothingness.

Axel had never seen anyone so blank before. He knew that some of the others had been like this at first, but once they'd sorted out what had happened to them they were on the road to personality and all that. Still, for all that he'd seen, none of them had been this bad. This kid could hardly walk!

"So... You're Roxas, right?" He asked, glancing back at the child, whose blank gaze was beginning to seem unnerving. "I'm Axel." He stopped, and Roxas crashed into him. Stumbling back a step or two, he gazed silently forward, his line of sight colliding with Axel's chest but not really focusing on it. "Hello? Is there anyone in there?" He asked, knocking on Roxas' head again, this time a little harder.

Roxas shifted his head up, his dull eyes focusing on his own and staring into them with a strange sort of... Intensity? Like he was waiting for more, for some sort of continuation? His gaze was still blank, but it appeared a little less dull now, like he was really focusing this time. Suddenly uncomfortable, Axel stood up straight, and, amazingly, Roxas' gaze followed.

"Okay, we've got focusing on moving objects down, now let's see what else you can do." He chuckled. "Can you talk?" Roxas stared, his blank expression seeming a little confused. "C'mon, say my name. Ax-el." He urged, sounding out his name for the child, who may or may not have been thinking he was an idiot. "Ax-el. C'mon, you can say it. Ax-el."

Roxas continued to stare at him, still dazed as he watched him. Axel was beginning to feel a bit stupid now, after having sounded out his name at least five times now for someone who seemed not to know what he was doing, but he was determined not to give up. "Come on Roxas. At least say something!" He crowed, mussing up his own hair from the back -a nasty habit of his. Roxas still looked confused, but there was a strange murmuring sound coming from his mouth, like he was trying to speak, but he just couldn't put the right sounds together. Finally, Axel gave up.

"Come on, let's just go." He sighed, turning toward the direction of the corridor and taking off at a pace he hoped was slow enough for Roxas. It was getting late, and he wanted to get back to the castle and get some shut-eye ASAP. Behind him, he could hear Roxas' shuffling feet and he could feel his eyes boring into the back of his neck. Uhg, if he'd thought the blank stare was creepy, this was even creepier.

"Ax-el.." There was a tiny murmur behind him, and Axel turned, looking down at Roxas, who wasn't staring at him any more, but was once again staring into nothing.

"What'd you say?" He asked cautiously, unsure if he had heard Roxas correctly. It was probably just his imagination, but he could have sworn he'd heard Roxas say-

"Ax-el." He mumbled, his voice so quiet that he almost missed it. Axel stared in silence for a moment. Then, a grin spread across his face. "Axel." His grin widened.

"Alright, it speaks!" He chuckled. "Good job kid, you did it!" Roxas looked up at him again, focusing on his smile this time, trying to figure what was going on probably.

"Axel." Roxas said one more time, before falling silent. Which could be considered either a good or a bad thing. It was good, because sometimes newbies would cling to one word and repeat that over and over again until they figured out how to say other things. How awful would it be to have him going around spouting 'Axel, Axel, Axel' non-stop until he expanded his vocabulary? Talk about embarrassing... But, it could be bad, because for all he knew, Roxas might just go and forget how to speak again. Still, wouldn't it be better for him to be silent than to go on saying 'Axel' again and again?

"So, can you say anything else?" Axel asked. He knew he shouldn't pressure the kid, but he wanted to make sure Roxas was capable of saying more than just his name. Roxas didn't respond right away, but after a few seconds, he opened his mouth and spoke again.

"Roxas." Axel smiled.

"Good. No, great, actually. Great job." He smiled, though it was lost on Roxas's empty eyes, which were focusing on, well, nothing. Again. "That's a lot for you to do in such a short amount of time." Axel turned his head and looked toward the sun. It was low in the sky, but the evening was still young. He still had plenty of time to RTC. "Yo, Roxas, follow me." He gestured for the Nobody to follow him, and Roxas took the cue and did.

"Wh... Where are we... Where are we going?" Roxas strung a few words together, once again surprising Axel. _Maybe this kid isn't as hopeless as I thought. _Axel realized, smiling slightly.

"We're going some place special

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><p><strong>Roxas's introduction to Axel... Like in the opening song thing... :D<strong>

**Please review?  
><strong>


	3. Why The Sun Sets Red

**Thank you, jcthegirl, Domino, and Bond for the reviews :D**

**I wrote this shortly after finding the manga. I watched the opening of my game and wrote out what they said, so the dialogue should be pretty much accurate, except the last part, where I cross-referenced what Roxas said in the manga with what he said in the game, because I couldn't decide which sounded better x3**

**I just realized that a lot of these were written in my Pre-Xion Stage, days I hardly remember, where Xion did not like to do me the favor of appearing in my work XD Anyway, enjoy more Axel Roxas Bonding Time :D  
><strong>

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><p>Axel rounded the blind corner of the clock tower, and paused, startled but pleased to see Roxas sitting there already, gazing silently out at the horizon. Not bothering to look up at the clock to see what time it was, he walked over.<p>

"You're early." Roxas turned his head, equally surprised to see the red-headed Nobody as he appeared. There was a slight look of irritation in his expression, but he smiled any way.

"No, you're just late." He replied as Axel plopped down next to him, shuffling noisily as he tried to get comfortable. The cloaks designated to each member of the Organization -Organization XIII -were meant for protection against Heartless and the dark corridor, not for comfort. Or practicality, for that matter.

"Yeah, yeah." Axel chuckled, pulling out a bar of ice cream from his bag (which was strapped beneath his cloak). Tugging off the wrapper, he handed it to Roxas, who grinned and took it immediately. "And all is forgiven." Axel laughed, unwrapping his own and taking a large bite out of it, though he regretted it soon after. Wincing from brain freeze, he chanced a glance at Roxas, who was staring at his own ice cream in silence, an odd smile on his face. He looked like he was deep in thought, unlike the other times he would zone out.

"Today makes 200 and 55." Roxas said quietly, his voice a little louder than a whisper as he spoke. There was a small smile on his face as he took a tiny bite from his ice cream. Curious, Axel cast a questioning gaze at Roxas, who was still gazing blissfully at the setting sun.

"What's that all about?" Axel asked, taking a bite out of his own ice cream, wanting to finish it before it began to melt. Roxas still had that weird little smile on his face as he spoke, but his gaze had now dropped down to his hands, which were twiddling with the stick of his ice cream.

"It's been that many days," He grinned, taking another bite from his ice cream. "Since I joined the Organization. Man, time flies." He sighed, though his voice sounded more reminiscent and happy than somber. Axel couldn't help but chuckle.

"So, you've got the number memorized, do ya'?" He grinned back; truly amused by the fact Roxas had counted every day since he'd gained consciousness. _Looks like you're almost a whole year old, huh?_ He thought, a little surprised by the realization. That was right, it had been almost a year since Roxas had been born. It had been a long time since then, since they'd first met, but when he looked back at it from now, it seemed like only yesterday he and Roxas had first come up here. _Time really does fly._

"I've gotta hold onto something, right?" Roxas sighed, still twiddling his thumbs. "I mean, it isn't like I have any memories from before the Organization." A small, sad smile crawled onto his face as he gazed into what Axel imagined was Roxas' "pool of memories", the blank spot he always gazed into when he was spacing out. "Remember those first few days? I acted like a zombie." He tried to laugh as he said this, but it came out forced, and all too somber to be real -even for a Nobody. Roxas sighed quietly, the look in his eyes shadowed and even a bit forlorn.

Instinctively, Axel placed a hand on the smaller Nobody's shoulder, gripping it reassuringly like he always did when Roxas was uncertain about something. Roxas looked up, a small light of surprise in his dark blue eyes.

"Right, that first week... You could barely form a sentence." Axel murmured, remembering all too well those first couple of days, when Roxas hadn't even been aware of his surroundings, much less his own thoughts. He'd literally been a zombie, zoning through his existence like he wasn't even there. When he looked back now, it was truly amazing how far he'd come: from the spacey half-pint to, well... Now. Of course, Roxas was still pretty spacey. He still zoned out at what seemed to be every opportunity he got, but at least he was actually conscious now.

Starting to smile again, he gave Roxas a friendly shove, smacking his shoulder playfully.

"But hey, c'mon." He laughed, grinning at Roxas, "You're still sort of a zombie!" Now Roxas was laughing too. Smacking his arm away, he grinned back, his eyes no longer clouded with anything. Now they were bright, and they laughed along with the Nobody.

"Oh, Thanks!" Roxas laughed, pushing back at Axel, who chuckled, returning his gaze to the horizon and taking a large bite out of his ice cream. It was still cold, and stung his mouth, but he didn't care.

The sun was setting, sinking closer and closer toward the edge of horizon, its light painting the sky around it a brilliant red-orange color. Sighing quietly, Axel brought up on leg onto the edge of the building and draped his arm on it, using it to rest his chin. It was moments like these where he felt like he could sit forever in perfect peace. He'd always loved watching the sunset. The sky would burst into beautiful colors, like it was on fire, but much more serene. There was something so satisfying about watching the sun sink behind the mountains in the distance, signaling the end of yet another day, another mission accomplished. He loved watching the sun as it retired, and let the night begin. Most people enjoyed the sunrise, because it was the beginning of a "fresh new day", rather than the end of one, but he still loved the sunset more. After all, if the sun never set, it would never rise either. Every day needed its end, so that it could begin again.

"Hey, Roxas," Axel grinned suddenly. "I bet ya' don't know why the sun sets red!" Roxas' eyed flickered toward him, curiosity bright within them, though the look on his face tried to hide it. "You see, lights made up out of bunches of different colors. And out of all those colors, red is the one that travels the farthest." Roxas laughed, rolling his eyes.

"What are you so proud of, know-it-all?" He grinned, but Axel just laughed.

It was moments like these, sitting here with his friend and watching the sunset, where he wished he could stop time so that he could remain here forever. It was times like this, where he felt like he really, truly had a heart.

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><p><strong>There will be a lot of Axel Roxas Bonding Time moments in this... Just because that was my main focus when I started writing about Kingdom Hearts. I do have some pieces with Xion in them too, though, so don't fret Xion fans :D<strong>

**Please review? I'll give you Sea Salt Icecream!  
><strong>


	4. A Conversation Held in the Dark

**Thank you Domino and Rurira-Rurira-Chan for your reviews :D  
><strong>

**This one is Roxas and Xion! I wrote this when I was trying to make an FFVII/KH crossover. So let's set the scene: Roxas and Xion got taken my the Turks/Shinra during a mission, because they're fascinated bye the Keyblade and Kingdom Hearts (the heartshaped moon, not the game XD) and they think they might be able to use it as energy instead of the life stream. So they've taken Roxas and Xion.**

**This is a conversation between the two of them, one night in their cells/holding chambers/whatevers, after having been held their for awhile.  
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><p>...<p>

"Xion? Are you awake?"

"Uh huh."

"Oh. Okay. Good." A small chuckle.

"Mmm…"

"Hm?"

"Roxas?"

"Yes, Xion?"

"… Do you… Do you really think he's going to come?"

"Of course!" A sad laugh. "What's so funny?"

"You say that so automatically. Like you're trained or something."

"Stoppit. He's gonna come Xion, just wait."

"… Roxas, how long have we been here?"

…

…

"Roxas?"

"Yeah?"

"How long have we been here?"

"… Two weeks. Maybe three. A month?"

…

"Why?"

"… We've been here for a month, and he's still not here?"

…

…

"Roxas?"

…

"Roxas? Roxas?"

…

A heavy sigh. "Roxas, I'm _sorry_, but-"

"He's gonna come."

"How do you know?"

Silence.

"Well?"

"I just know, okay?"

"Just knowing isn't good enough, Roxas."

"Well it is for me. He'll come, because he's Axel."

…

"Xion?"

"… If you say so, Roxas."

"Just wait. You'll see. He'll be here."

"Alright. Good night, Roxas."

"Night, Xion."

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><p><strong>Roxas won't lose faith :D<strong>

**Roxas ends up getting out, running into Axel as he was getting in to save them, and then they break Xion out. Even Saix came along! But that was because he had to get the Keywielders back, of course.**

**:D  
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	5. Airborn

**Thank you Domino for reviewing ^_^**

**For a long time this was my favorite day, because I got to see Axel and Roxas have their bonding time. I was very obsessed with their bromance (no, not romance -.-) for awhile, but it's evolved into AkuRokuShi -I can't have just two of them, they all gotta be together! :D So this is Neverland... Very long and drabbly... Axel, you talk too much!  
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><p>"It feels like it's been forever." Roxas sighed, staring out at the ocean with his trademarked glassy gaze.<p>

"Since what?" I wondered, was he talking abut since he'd been here, or if he was talking about something else altogether.

"Since we've gotten to just talk like this." Roxas looked up at me and smiled. It was just a simple smile, but it was just so dang real! Honestly, whenever that kid smiled or laughed, I would have bet anything on him having a real heart. And, as always, I couldn't help but smile back. Couldn't help but feel like I had a heart too. _What is it about Roxas and Xion that makes it so easy to be normal?_ I couldn't help but ask myself that same question again; what was so special about those two?

"Has it really been that long?" I laughed, my hand instinctively rubbing the back of my neck. "Man, time flies." And really, it did. To me, it seemed like only yesterday Roxas and Xion had been little zombies, zoning silently about their duties. It was hard to believe it'd been almost nine months since they'd first joined the Organization -not only that, but since they'd first been "born" as Nobodies.

"Speaking of flying... Isn't this the place?" I looked around, Roxas' story of flying over some beach coming back to me. Roxas' face lit up at the memory, and he grinned.

"Yeah! Watch this."

Roxas closed his eyes and cocked his head upward slightly, standing on his tiptoes in an attempt to rise into the air. When nothing happened, he sunk back down, and tried again. He repeated this a few more times, while I tried as hard as I could not to laugh at him. It was pretty amusing watching his attempts at flight, and the best I could do was just grin at his efforts.

"Soo... How's it working?" I snorted, and Roxas scowled, though it seemed to be more at himself than at me.

"I don't understand..." He frowned perplexedly, staring down at his feet. "Last time I was here, I could fly. Maybe... I need some more of that sparkling dust from before." He sighed, and my grin grew. I believed that Roxas had flew, I truly and honestly did (he wasn't capable of making up a story like that, even if his existence depended on it), but it was still pretty funny to hear him talk about sparkly dust that makes you fly. Still, as unbelievable as it was, I knew Roxas wasn't lying (like I said, he couldn't have come up with something like that on his own).

"Well, let's just focus on our mission for now-" I was cut off mid-sentence by a sudden noise. Roxas looked up, and I followed his gaze, but what we saw wasn't exactly amazing.

There were two men standing over a hole, and in front of them, a small blue Heartless was hovering. Simply hovering in front of them, not even making a move. It was funny how harmless they could seem; some actually appearing cute and docile, which was strange, considering Heartless fed off the darkness in people's hearts. People attracted to the cute looking little guys were usually more pure of heart- not good candidates for potential prey.

"Gah!" One of the men -dressed all in red, with long hair and a moustache that reminded me of hands on a clock -was clearly enraged by the Heartless, which still sat harmlessly in front of them, watching in a way that most humans would consider cute. "Everywhere you dig," He was shouting at the plump, shorter man with the shovel, though he didn't appear to be mad at him, more at the Heartless. "Everywhere, more and more of these confounded Heartless!" He moaned, stomping on the ground.

"They're keeping me from me treasure!" He growled furiously. "It... It makes me blood boil!" He roared. I was surprised how calm the shorter man seemed in the rage of the other one. "Come, Smee! Back to the ship!" He boomed, whirling around and stomping away. This threw the other man - Named Smee? -into a tizzy, as he scrabbled out of the hole and tried to catch up with him.

"What- Whatever for, Sir!" He stammered, lifting the shovel up so that it wouldn't drag.

"I'm going to blow those Heartless to smithereens!" The man in red cried triumphantly, storming of with the smaller man close behind. The Heartless -frazzled by the departure of its prey -took off after them, hovering speedily behind.

"Woah." I smiled drily, not really sure how to respond. "It looks like your adventures are more colorful than mine, Roxas." Roxas was still staring after the men, but he looked up when I said this. He probably didn't get it, but I continued any way. "So, what's those guys' story?" I asked, genuinely curious. They definitely seemed like interesting characters, and who knew? Maybe learning about them would help our mission somehow. I doubted it -deeply, deeply doubted it -but we had to start somewhere.

"I don't know." Roxas admitted, shrugging slightly. "But, I think they're looking for some sort of treasure." He explained, and it clicked in my mind.

_Pirates._ Of course, they were pirates. That explained the weird outfits -though, as far as odd outfits went, I was one to talk.

"So, what, they're digging for buried gold or something?" I asked, smiling slightly. These were pirates, like the ones I'd read about... Back then. When I was Lea, instead of Axel.

"Yeah," Roxas nodded, "But, Heartless keep popping up wherever they dig." I frowned, arms crossing.

"You mean, the Heartless are hiding underground?" That was a new one. I knew there were some Heartless that liked to ambush their prey from beneath the ground, but little ones like these? They always just popped out of nowhere. But, Roxas shook his head, frowning again like he always did when he was thinking.

"No, it's not that... All they find are these little wooden chests full of junk-"

"Are the Heartless inside the chests?" I couldn't help but cut him off. Roxas shook his head again, though he didn't seem irritated, just confused.

"No, it isn't like that. I think it's something else that's making them appear." He frowned, and this time I did too. Because, this wasn't making sense. Heartless hiding in the ground sort of made sense, and hiding in chests was plausible. We knew from experience they liked popping randomly in front of us, but appearing near chests full of junk? What was up with that?

"What do you think it could be?" I asked, staring down at the hole, but not seeing anything. Roxas' frown grew, and he shrugged once more.

"I don't know, but... Did anything seem, I dunno... Off about the guy in red?" He asked. I thought for a second, really trying to remember if he'd seemed weird. Which, he had, but I was pretty sure Roxas had meant it in a different way than I did. I mean, he was wearing a giant floppy hat with a huge pink feather. There wasn't anything normal about him. But, I doubted the heartless had any sort of attraction to floppy feathered hats.

"Hmmm... Off... Off how?" I asked, and Roxas just sighed.

"I'm not really sure. It's hard to explain, he just seemed... Kind of strange." Kind of was an understatement.

"Well..." I glanced at the hole one more time, and then out into the distance, where I could see their ship: a giant, wooden one, with enormous sails -down at the moment. "Right now, we're just spitballing ideas." Roxas nodded in agreement. "C'mon, let's go check out those holes. Who knows, maybe we'll find our targets napping down there." I grinned, and Roxas looked up, smiling back.

"Yeah, who knows?" He laughed.

The first hole wasn't very far from the C.O.D., and when we got there, I saw that Roxas was right: it was just an empty wooden box. And pretty small at that; hardly big enough to fit a Heartless.

That's when I saw the glow.

There was a soft, yellow glow coming from the hole. Curiosity getting the best of me, I walked closer.

"Holy crap." I whispered, staring at what looked like a very, very tiny little girl. She was glowing, a luminescent yellow, and she had a pair of tiny, translucent wings. And, she looked very, very pissed.

She was hovering about the chest, arms crossed in an irritated way as she darted back and forth, observing the box with utmost care. She didn't want to miss a single inch of it; at least, not until she noticed us. Though, she seemed more interested in Roxas than she did me.

When our shadows passed over her, she looked up, and immediately she flew up to Roxas, hovering in front of his eyes and glaring at him.

"It's you again!" Roxas cried, sounding surprised to see the tiny girl, who was clearly some sort of fairy. Not that I'd ever seen one before, in real life at least, but I knew what they were _supposed_ to look like, and she fit the bill. But, while Roxas looked at least a little excited to see her, she looked incredibly peeved to see him. The fairy scowled at Roxas, stamping her teeny feet dramatically in the air. This seemed to surprise Roxas, who looked genuinely confused by her actions.

"Are... Are you mad at me?" He asked, sounding a little bit hurt. The fairy nodded, her blonde head bobbing furiously. Roxas continued to look puzzled for a moment, before something dawned on him. "Is it because I didn't follow you to the ship?" He asked, and the fairy nodded.

While they were talking -or at least, Roxas was talking, since the pixie didn't seem to be able to - I could only watch. I had no idea what they were going on about, only that Roxas had pissed off a pixie, who was somehow in relation with the pirates -possibly? -we'd seen earlier.

It made about as much sense as anything else we'd seen in these weird worlds.

"Who's this?" I asked, out of the loop and completely lost. The fairy glanced over in my direction, as though she hadn't noticed me before (maybe she hadn't), and I could see her tiny expression become startled. With a quick flash, she zipped backward, hiding behind Roxas' head. "Hey, don't be shy. I don't bite." I laughed. She peeked out slightly, then hovered out into the open, watching me with a mild curiosity. Roxas looked up, a little frazzled by the bad vibes from the fairy girl.

"Uh, I'm not exactly sure. But, she's the one who made me fly last time." He smiled. I laughed, studying the fairy more closely. Now that he mentioned it, she was sparkling. She must have given him the "sparkly dust" he'd told me about.

"No kidding?" I laughed, and Roxas nodded again, then turned to apologize to the fairy. _I was right, his adventures are more colorful than mine. _I grinned, watching him try and reconcile the mystical creature. It seemed to be working, because the fairy was no longer glaring at him. She seemed more docile now, not friendly, but a bit more... I dunno, understanding?

"Hey! Do you think you could give me some more of that dust?" Roxas asked suddenly, surprising me. He'd just made the fairy mad, and now he was asking her for a favor? _Geez, kid..._ But, to my further surprise, the fairy actually nodded.

She zipped back and forth, over the two of us. Yellow, sparkling dust -just like Roxas had told me about -rained down, landing on us and then disappearing just as quickly.

"What was that all about-" I began, but I didn't get a chance to finish. Turning to look at Roxas, I actually jumped back a bit. Because, there he was, flying. Right in front of me.

It wasn't really flying, more like floating, or hovering. Like the fairy did it, only without wings to help. But, whatever it was, Roxas wasn't touching the ground. He was grinning, the dust sparkling all around him, and the fairy hovering proudly next to him, a pleased look on her minuscule face.

"Holy-" I bit my tongue to stop myself from saying anything I'd regret. "How are you doing that!" I cried, amazed by what I was seeing. I knew he'd told me he'd flown, and I'd told him I believed him, but I guess I hadn't_ really_ believed it until now, when I was seeing it for myself. And God, it was mind boggling.

Roxas grinned, hovering effortlessly. Right now, his head was above mine, so I had to look up at him for a change.

"I don't know. It's hard to describe. You just think, "I can fly!", and then boom!" He grinned, and I smirked. How could it be that easy?

"I can fly", and then boom?" I questioned, and he nodded. "Alright, if you say so..." Closing my eyes, I found myself imitating Roxas' previous attempts to fly.

_I can fly... I can fly... I can fly..._ I imagined myself lifting off of the ground, but, much like Roxas' past efforts, I found myself still rooted to the earth. Opening my eyes, I saw Roxas stifling laughter. I couldn't blame him. If he'd looked goofy before, imagine what I must have looked like: a grown man trying to fly- and failing miserably at that. He made it look so easy, but I couldn't get myself to lift.

"Haw, haw." I scowled, but Roxas ignored it.

"Come on Axel. Believe me, it'll work." Roxas urged. I frowned for a second, then nodded.

"Alright. Yeah, I believe you." And I did. It was some sappy crap, I'll admit it, but yeah, I believed in him. So, I gave it shot one more time.

_I can fly._ It was so weird, standing there thinking that. _I can fly. Just let go of everything else and do it. Fly._ I could actually feel myself getting lighter. And lighter. It felt sort of weird, but not in a bad way.

"I can fly." Slowly, I opened my eyes.

If I had a heart, I would have had a heart attack.

"I can fly!" I could. I was flying. Well, floating, but still, I was in the air!

There was a huge grin on my face, but I wasn't really trying to hide it. "Wow." I breathed silently. Roxas laughed.

"See? Told you."

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><p><strong>I also like the part when Axel tells Roxas he doesn't want to have to scrape him off a cannon ball... I am very strange. I was like "Lol, he cares XD" Not that is isn;t obvious, but still.<strong>

**Whnat do you guys wanna see next? Something funny? More Axel and Roxas (I've got at least three more of those...)? Something with Xion? Crossovery goodness? I've got it all, just waiting to be put up...  
><strong>


	6. Annihilation

**Thank you Keyblade User for reviewing ^_^ Via request, I posted another one about Axel and Roxas, though it's shorter...  
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**I hate the word annihilated DX It took me for freaking ever to figure out how to spell it... **

**This is based off of the manga version of Axel's return, which I like better than the game, because it shows more emotion :3  
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><p>At first, Roxas just stayed there on all fours, staring up at him with the keyblade still in hand. He remained like that for about seven seconds before suddenly crying out, his eyes growing huge with disbelief.<p>

"Axel!" The shock in his voice was undeniable, and he looked as though he were at a loss for words.

"What's up?" Axel replied, unable to keep from grinning. "How've ya' been Roxas? I see you've been slacking a bit. Can't even hold your own against a bunch of shadow heartless, huh?" He chuckled. The baffled look on Roxas' face was still, there, but at least he'd gotten to his feet now. Axel frowned a little bit at how shaken the Nobody was, but he could easily figure out why he was so startled. "You look like you've seen a ghost." He smirked, which finally got Roxas to speak.

"That's because I have!" He stuttered, eyes still huge but now full of what looked a bit like awe. "You-You're- Saix told us that everyone who went to Castle Oblivion was annihilated!" He cried, though he seemed more excited than he was baffled now. Axel sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. He should have expected this. Saix hadn't even bothered to let anyone know he was still alive. That, or the Dusks hadn't even known he'd survived. _Typical._

The look of shock in Roxas' eyes was starting to get a little annoying, and even a little bit insulting. Like he was so unskilled that he'd let himself get destroyed along with the rest of those traitors? He wasn't that pathetic. Stalking forward, he flicked Roxas' forehead, snapping the boy from his trance and getting his attention.

"Come on Roxas, you didn't honestly think I'd let myself get destroyed, did you?" He scolded, immediately feeling strange for having done so. He wasn't Roxas' "nanny" anymore; it wasn't his duty to scold him.

"But Saix said-" Roxas began, only to have Axel cut him off.

"That everyone was annihilated. Correction," He grinned, "Only the weak were annihilated." Roxas was rubbing his head, but there was a smile spreading across his face. "I told you not to worry, didn't I? I said I'd be fine, and here I am." The small smile on Roxas' face began to grow as realization settled in, and the Nobody's eyes widened. His eyes were as huge as the grin on his face, and they shimmered brightly as he beamed upward. He looked happy, and not even fake-happy, but genuinely ecstatic. And, for a brief moment, Axel could also feel the glow of warmth in his chest that the smaller Nobody was feeling. Like he was happy. Like he had a heart. What could he say? Roxas just had the sort of affect on him.

"Wait here! I'll go get us some ice-cream." Roxas dashed off toward the stand, leaving Axel there to wait. Axel grinned, shaking his head wryly.

"That kid..."

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><p><strong>It says that dashed isn't a word... It is, isn't it? ;;<br>**

**What do you guys wanna see next? Something funny? More Axel and Roxas (I've got at least two more of those...)? Something with Xion? Crossovery goodness? I've got it all, just waiting to be put up...  
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	7. The Epic

**Thank you Domino, Rurira-chan, and Fear for reviewing ^_^**

**I've found a way to satisfy both parties: A crossover fic with Axel Roxas bonding :3 **

**This happens during Fear the Silly's people's "Epic", which has yet to be written. I am a co-author to it (8D) and it shall be truly _epic_ when she does write it. No pressure. For serious.**

**Anyway, the Epic is a huge crossover story where peeps from different worlds come together to save the universe. So they go a lot of places. Including the Castle That Never Was, and Roxas is worried about Axel. Envy from Fullmetal Alchemist is here (this is a crossover), King Boo from Mario, Kirby from, well, Kirby, and a Redwall OC that has been tossed into the garbage and replaced with kairi is here -the first and last time you will ever see her. Mostly focuses on Axel and Roxas, though.  
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><p>"Can we go now?" Envy yawned, plopping down heavily on the couch. "I'm sick of wearing this stupid cloak. I cannot wait to get this thing off."<p>

"Hold your horses." Axel grumbled, making a grab for Kirby, who let out a loud cry of "Poyo!" and scampered out of reach. Sighing, Axel sat down, grumbling something unflattering about annoying pink puffballs who couldn't speak English. The said-puffball then peeked over at him from the couch, where he was perched on Envy's head.

"Poyo poyo!" Kirby cried excitedly, hopping up and down. "Poyo, poyo, poyo!" Sighing, axel scratched the back of his neck and fell backwards. God, he was just so tired. Why couldn't Kirby make his life easy for once?

"Envy, what's he saying?" He asked irritably.

"He said "This is fun Sempai! Let's keep playing!" Envy groaned, in his best imitation of an English speaking Kirby voice.

"Kirby! I'm not fooling around! We have to go!" Axel growled, getting up and trying to grab Kirby again, only to have him bounce to where Ivy was sitting and take a seat on her head. Groaning, Axel resisted summoning a chakram. Sometimes, he wondered if this was worth all the trouble… _The sooner we leave, then sooner this'll all be over, and then I can come home._ He thought. _And stay home._

A shuffling sound came from behind, but when Axel turned to see what it was, all he saw was a shadow darting away. Quietly, he peered around the corner, and caught a glimpse of a small, cloaked figure with spiky hair bolting down the hall and disappearing with a flicker of shadows. _Roxas…_ Sighing, Axel looked at the group. Boo was reading contentedly next to Ivy, who in turn was coddling Kirby and crooning something about Dibbons… And Envy… Well, Envy was playing around with the zipper on his cloak and humming something under his breath.

"Hey, guys." Only Ivy looked up at him when he spoke. "I forgot a few things I needed to do before I left." Envy groaned, slumping down in his cloak –which was too big -and making it look like he didn't have a head. "It might take awhile…" He added, and Envy groaned louder, turning to glare at him.

"Just let'm go, Envy." Boo waved a dismissive hand at the homunculus, not bothering to look up from his book. Envy shot a murderous glare at Boo, then crossed his arms and slumped down so far he nearly slid off the couch. Without another word, Axel opened up a dark portal and stepped in.

Roxas sat silently at the top of the tower, gazing emptily down at the city below. He could hear the sounds of the boxcars as they rattled across the horizon, and the cries of those kids as they ran about. There was a sort of bustling feeling that the town gave off every now and then, and right now, it was emitting that little buzz of life. Sighing, Roxas stared down at his gloves, wondering why he'd come up here in the first place. _I always come here when I'm upset about something, even if I'm not supposed to feel upset in the first place. _

"I wish I had some ice cream…" He murmured to himself. That always helped him feel better, whether or not he was supposed to feel anything at all.

"Your wish is my command." A familiar voice chuckled. Looking up, Roxas jolted a bit, startled to see Axel rounding the corner, two bars of ice cream in hand. "Here ya go, Shorty." He grinned, handing one to Roxas, who took it hesitantly. He watched as Axel took a seat next to him and immediately took a bite of his own Popsicle. Roxas frowned, staring down at the bar in his hands. What was Axel doing here?

"You okay?" Axel asked, between bites. Roxas looked up, nodding slowly. "Don't lie." Axel scowled, surprising Roxas again. "Obviously you're not okay. I called you shorty and you didn't even blink. Usually you're all scowly and angsty when I say stuff like that." Axel pointed out, taking another bite. Roxas sighed, looking away.

_I'm not okay,_ he wanted to say. _I'm not okay. But, I don't know what to say. Axel's leaving again, and I don't know when he'll come back. I… I don't know how to describe this._

"Axel…" Axel looked over, Popsicle stick sticking from his mouth.

"Mmm?" He mumbled, and Roxas struggled not to smile.

"… It's nothing." He decided, looking away. He felt a gentle jab against his temple. Glancing over, he saw Axel's Popsicle stick poking him.

"I thought I told you not to lie." He smirked. Roxas gazed silently at him, still not sure what to say. He knew that Axel had to leave, for one reason or another, but… He didn't want him to. It was like when he'd left for Castle Oblivion. Roxas didn't _want_ Axel to go, he didn't want that fear of not knowing whether or not Axel had been annihilated. If something happened… He wouldn't know. He couldn't stand it.

"Do you really have to go?" Axel's eyes flickered with surprised, but then softened, and he smiled, almost sadly.

"Yeah." He sighed, withdrawing his stick. Roxas frowned. He didn't like that answer.

"I… Don't want you to, though." He muttered, feeling like an idiot as he did. What did it matter if he didn't want Axel to go? It wasn't his choice. He felt a hand fall over his shoulder, and heard Axel sigh.

"Well, if it's any consolation, I don't really want to go either." The red head smiled, patting Roxas on the back. "But hey, it'll be okay. I'll be back before you know it, and then we can all meet up here again. You, me, and Xion." Roxas managed a smile.

"Yeah… That'd be nice." He nodded. Axel grinned.

"Hey, Roxas. I bet I can throw my ice cream stick farther than you!" Roxas laughed.

"You wish!" He grinned, licking off the last dribbles of Popsicle.

"Ready? On three. One… Two… Three!" Roxas watched as the two pieces of wood sailed out over the town, arcing down and disappearing somewhere in the distance, landing out of sight.

"Mine went farther." Axel claimed immediately.

"What! No way! Mine went way further than yours!" Roxas laughed.

"In your dreams." Axel grinned, and Roxas gave him a shove. "Please, you know mine went farther. My throw was fueled by my awesomeness, which gave it a power boost. Yours was weighed down by your zombieness, so it couldn't go nearly as far." Roxas laughed, shoving him harder.

"Shut up." He grinned. Sighing happily, he looked out at the sunset. "You'll be back soon… Right?" He asked quietly. He heard Axel shuffling next to him.

"Probably." He yawned, laying back. "If I'm lucky, I might even be back before the end of the week." Roxas felt himself smiling without even trying.

"I hope you're right." Roxas murmured.

"I'm always right." Axel laughed, and soon, Roxas was joining in.

It felt now as though all the weight and worry had been lifted off his chest…

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><p><strong>I hope you could understand that okay ._. Not that you really need to. It's more about Roxas.<br>**

**Anyway, to divert some confusion -Kirby speaks Kirbish, which is a mix of Japanese and gibberish, and since Envy comes from a manga, therefore japanese, he can understand some of what Kirby says. Kirby adores Axel because he's the only one who pays attention to him without glomming all over him for being adorable. And Boo is just there. I don't even know about Ivy... She's been replaced by Kairi. Just not here.**

**:D**

**"Your wish is my command." ... Is it possible for me to write Axel/Roxas friendship without it sounding like AkuRoku in disguise? ... I sure as heck hope so...  
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	8. Mission: Save Xion

**Thank you Rurira-chan for reviewing ^_^**

**Xion is back, because I luff Xion. I wrote this during my "LOL MANGA SQUEEEEEEE" Obsessive writing phase. In the manga, Roxas's RESCUE XION adventure was different. He obsessed over her disappearance even more in the manga and ditched Axel at the clock tower to go find her, and he (of course) swooped in to save the day. Which is why I love him. So, just a brief drabble about that scene, and Axel's "feelings".  
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><p>"You idiot..." He sighed, muttering a curse under his breath. Before he even had a chance to stand, the flickering corridor was gone, leaving him alone. Another explosion sounded from the forest, this time a little louder, but as long as he was up here, he had no way of knowing what was going on.<p>

_Let'm save her._ He thought silently, gazing dully out at the forest. The trees danced wildly back and forth as the alleged battle ensued, but Axel was focused on something else. The odd feelings he had in both his chest and his gut. His chest felt heavy as the scene of Roxas disappearing to find Xion played again and again in his mind, whereas his gut was twisting strangely as he watched the trees rattle and tried to imagine what could possibly be going on down there. He knew these feelings, or at least, he remembered what feelings they would be if he had a heart, and he sighed heavily, forcing himself to his feet.

"Well, what are ya' gonna do?" He muttered, summoning the corridor to him. "Let's see if I can get there before they kill themselves." He rumbled, walking into the flickering portal while silently musing about the strange "feelings" he was experiencing. _Jealousy and worry, huh? It's something new every day..._

/\/\/\

Axel entered the battlefield only to be sucked into the battle immediately.

The first thing he saw upon stepping out of the corridor was Roxas getting slammed to the ground by the Heartless that Xion had been sent after. Axel watched as the lizard-like creature lashed out at Roxas with its clawed "hand", knocking the Nobody to the ground and pinning him there. Beneath the Heartless' grip, Roxas lay motionless and unresponsive, just like Xion a couple of feet away. All this, and he'd only just exited the corridor of darkness.

The Heartless loomed over Roxas, large and menacing, nearly three times the smaller Nobody's size. It had practically flattened Roxas against the ground, its enormous clawed hand trapping him beneath its weight. Without hesitation, Axel summoned his chakrams, launching them at the Heartless and knocking it backward onto its haunches. The first chakram stuck right into the Heartless' head, burning away, much to the dark creature's displeasure. It let out a surprised -and enraged -roar, rearing back and giving him just enough time to act.

Using the brief moment that the creature was distracted to his advantage, Axel leapt into action, sprinting toward Roxas and grabbing him up off the ground. Heaving the Nobody -who was a lot heavier than he looked! -up and carrying him under his arm, his gaze whirled around, landing on Xion, who was lying on the ground just a few feet away -unconscious.

The heartless moaned, and Axel looked up, just in time to see it crashing down toward him.

"Cra-ap!" He hissed, leaping out of the way and landing in front of Xion. Scooping up the small girl, he quickly carried the two out of range of the lizard-like beast, and gently deposited Xion onto the ground. She looked exhausted. Her gloves were charred from what looked like an over use of fire magic, and her hair was a wild, frizzy mess; matted to her head with sweat. _She's definitely been over working it._ Axel decided, feeling a pang of pity for the girl. _What was she doing anyway? Why not just use her keyblade?_ Shrugging -there was no time to wonder why - Axel dropped Roxas to the ground next to Xion, not bothering to be so gentle this time.

"Get up you idiot." He prodded the boy gently with his foot, shaking him with it until he became conscious again.

Roxas moaned, slowly sitting up and rubbing his head.

"Wha- Axel?" He looked up, his eyes hazy as they tried to focus. Axel sighed, rubbing the back of his neck with exasperation.

"You come here to help Xion, and instead you end up getting beaten up yourself..." He grumbled, turning to look at the Heartless, which was just getting up. It tried to shake the chakram, which had finally stopped burning, from its head, but to no avail it was stuck fast.

"Xion!" Roxas' cry distracted Axel, who glanced back at the fallen Nobody girl. The look on Roxas' face was one of despair as he shuffled over to Xion's spot.

"She's fine Roxas," Axel reassured him. Roxas' head whipped around, and he fixed a large, watery gaze on him, silently asking if he meant it. "She's used up all her energy, so she'll be out for a bit. She's in no condition to fight though, so if you want to help, we'll have to cover for her." He warned, raising one hand and calling upon the chakrams. With a rush of warmth, they reappeared in his hands, and he gripped them tightly. Roxas had just gotten to his feet, but his gaze was still forlorn, and still focused on Xion's unconscious form.

"Why would she rely on magic? How come she didn't just use her keyblade?" He wondered aloud, voicing Axel's own questions. He turned to the taller Nobody, curiosity flickering in his shadowed eyes, but the red-head just shrugged.

"Beats me. Now c'mon, we've got bigger fish to fry." He turned, fixing his gaze on the heartless, which was slowly making its way toward them. "First let's finish this guy, and then we'll deal with Xion." Glancing quickly at Roxas, he felt a small wave of relief wash over him as the boy nodded in agreement.

"Alright, let's do it." Roxas flashed him a small, tight smile, and then summoned his keyblade. There was a brilliant burst of golden light, and with a familiar jangling sound, there it was: the keyblade. Axel couldn't help but grin.

"Let's get that thing's heart." He smirked. Roxas nodded, and the two leapt into action.

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><p><strong>So, what would you guys like? Some AkuRokuShi stuff, more manga drabbles (basically, Axel Roxas bonding), Day 193? I know I have something Lea-Isa-ey somewhere...<br>**


	9. This is Halloween

**Thank you jcthegirl for reviewing ^_^ And anyone else who I'm too lazy to go check for reviewing, if you did.**

**This is a halloween thing I wrote last year... A little early, but hey! Jcthegirl suggested more AkuRokuShi (JOY), so here's Axel and Xion bonding over tormenting our lovable blond angst bucket XD  
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><p>"Oh Rox~as!" Axel called, a grin in his voice. "We're all ready! Come and show us your costume!" Roxas grumbled as his two "best friends", Axel and Xion, giggled like little girls outside his door. Xion, he could understand. She <em>was<em> a girl. But Axel, he was, what, 24? Seriously, how immature could you get? And making him do _this?_ Some role model he was turning out to be…

"Come on, Roku-chan!" Xion giggled, knocking hard on the door. "Let us see your costume!" Roxas remained silent, his hand firmly on the doorknob, holding it shut in case they tried to barge in. He was hoping that if he pretended he wasn't here, they might give up and go without him.

"Roxas, if you don't let us in, I'll burn the door down." Axel threatened. Crap. That was always Axel's fallback. If you didn't do what he wanted, he'd burn such and such down. If you didn't listen to him, he'd light your hair on fire. A simple threat for a pyro to make; the problem was Axel was fully committed to these threats and had every intention of following them through. If Axel said he was going to burn the door down, then he definitely planned to burn the door down. Sighing heavily, Roxas twisted the knob and peeked out the crack. Axel and Xion stood there, huge grins on their faces.

"Don't be shy Roxas, we're all friends here." Axel laughed, motioning for him to step out. Hah. Yeah, right. "Friends" didn't make "friends" dress up in stupid costume and then force them to parade around in them. Not that Roxas would know. He didn't have anything else to compare to, but if he had to guess, he'd say that what Axel and Xion were doing was cruel and unusual.

Frowning, Roxas shoved the door open and stepped into the hall, doing his best to ignore Axel and Xion's snickering.

"I hate you." He muttered, glaring at the ground.

"I think it looks cute." Xion smiled, tugging on the black antennae. "Like a giant plushy." Roxas scowled, grabbing the antennae and pulling it away.

"I feel like an idiot." He grumbled. Axel thumped his back, grinning.

"Well Roxas, the good news is, you look like one too." He laughed, but Roxas only growled.

Roxas didn't know much about Halloween. The only things he did know, he'd learned from Axel, who had been more than eager to tell his two protégés about his favorite holiday. Axel wasn't a holiday person, according to himself, but he loved Halloween, solely because you got free candy, and an excuse to trump about in a goofy outfit and no could laugh at you for it. Well, unless you were wearing a costume like Roxas's… Roxas had told Axel –firmly –many times that he didn't want to do Halloween. He didn't want to go Trick-or-Treating, or dress up in a stupid costume and walk around town holding a plastic pumpkin. But Axel was persuasive. After whining, complaining, begging and groveling for a week, Roxas caved and agreed to go with him and Xion to Trick-or-Treat. And after begging, whining, moaning and groveling Non_-stop_ for _10 freakin' hours_, Axel and Xion managed to convince Roxas to let them pick his costume. Never again could he trust his friends with such a sacred task.

He was a Heartless. A giant, freakin' _Heartless._ And not even a cool one! A giant shadow Heartless, with big floppy antennae, clawed black mittens, and a huge plastic heart hanging around his neck. It was ironic, since he wouldn't even be here if it weren't for a Heartless, but most of all it looked ridiculous, and Roxas hated it.

"So, are we all ready?" Xion asked, staring at her reflection in on of the empty picture frames that hung in the halls and adjusting her hair. Into her short black hair, she'd weaved small cloth snakes, and she wore a long gray robe with a gold ringlet around her forehead. She caught Roxas staring quizzically at her, and smiled, tugging at a snake. "I'm Medusa. That snake woman who turns people to stone?" Roxas nodded like he knew what she was talking about, even though he hadn't a clue. Axel was wearing tattered, charred clothes and chains around his wrists and ankles, with ash smeared across his face and sprinkles through his hair. He looked a little eerie, creepier than Xion and him.

"What are you supposed to be?" He asked curiously, albeit bitterly. He wasn't going to let his so-called friends off the chain that easily. Axel grinned anyway, jangling his chains dramatically.

"A guy who died in a fire." Roxas nodded. He didn't understand Halloween very well, and he couldn't understand why people wanted so badly to run around dressed like dead people or animals. Or Heartless. Axel frowned, looking a bit uncomfortable. Roxas knew he hated silence, especially the awkward kind. "I thought it'd be funny, since I control fire. Ironic, y'know?" He shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck.

"It looks fine." Xion smiled. Roxas understood the costume, thought it made sense, but he didn't want to laugh about anything right now.

"Let's just go, alright?" He grumbled, heading toward the Grey Area.

"Fine. Be that way, Grumpy pants." Axel grumbled back, slumping his shoulders and doing his best impersonation of Roxas. "Oh, I hate the wooorld, and everyone in iiiit…" He moaned, making Xion giggle and coaxing a small smile from Roxas.

"Shut up." He gave Axel a shove, and as always, Axel grinned.

"Come on. Let's go get some candy!"

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><p><strong>I do not believe in sexual AkuRokuShi ._. Just... No. Axel's 24. They're 14. Even though I like AkuShi, I'd never have them ... "Do it." It's just screwed up. I'm sorry, but it is. <strong>

**You know how I said I had something Lea and Isaish? It's dead. I lost it in my mom's laptop ;-;  
><strong>


	10. Nothing

**Thank you jcthegirl for reviewing ^_^**

**Another sporadic manga writing :D About disappearing. You've gotta love angst :D Basically, Axel and Roxas talk about death ._.  
><strong>

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><p>"It'll happen to all of us, one day." Axel muttered, his voice as blank as the expression on his face. "Once we've used up all of our time, when we're old and useless, poof." He swirled his hand around in the air as he said "poof", though he wasn't exactly sure why. He'd always done stuff like that, in his past life. He had been a very animated person, and he was usually one nowadays. Old habits died hard, he guessed...<p>

" "Poof" ?" Roxas cocked his head in a curious way, his eyes full of confusion. All of a sudden, they flashed with recognition, and were clouded over with something strange... What was it? Sadness? Fear? Despair? "Do you mean... We'll disappear?" He asked quietly, gazing emptily at the ground below them, though not focusing on anything in particular. Nodding, Axel returned his gaze to the horizon, taking a bite out of his ice cream and savoring the taste before speaking again.

"That's right. One day, we'll disappear." He replied, surprised by how quiet his voice sounded as it came out. "It's not like we have hearts that will live on after us. Once we're gone, we're gone. Forever. There won't be anything left." Nothing left. No soul to go on after death, no light rising into the sky, just "poof", and then gone. Forever. Why did the faces of those from castle Oblivion keep bobbing up in his memory? _Disappear... Gone..._ That's right, they were gone too. Forever. Not that he cared, but, still... _What's it like... To disappear? No feelings, no consciousness, nothing. Absolutely nothing. That fate of those who aren't meant to exist._ His curious thought quickly became bitter, and he turned to Roxas, longing for a distraction.

"So... How'd you know, about us disappearing?" He asked, taking another bite out of his ice cream. It was starting to melt now, so he quickly took another bite, licking a dribble of it off of the stick before it reached his glove. He'd always hated the texture of melting ice cream, it was just so... Weird.

Roxas was gazing silently at the setting sun, his sea-blue eyes looking glassy as he took a small bite out of his own ice cream. Finally, he responded, his eyes still clouded over.

"When Saix told us you'd all been eliminated at Castle Oblivion, Xigbar told me that there wouldn't be anything left. That when a Nobody disappeared, they were just "gone", and that was the end of it." Roxas admitted, taking another bite from his ice cream, which was almost gone now. "It was weird... I felt really weird, thinking about you being "gone", and there being nothing left." Roxas' vision finally focused, and he turned to face Axel. There was a serious look in his eyes as he spoke, and Axel found himself chuckling. "What?" Roxas asked, the smallest of smiles tugging at the edge of his mouth, despite the serious and somber mood.

"Nothing. It's just... You keep on talking about feeling stuff like you actually have a heart to feel it with." Axel grinned, and Roxas began smiling too. "You have no memories of your past life, so you shouldn't even remember what it's like to feel, yet it comes so naturally to you. It's, I dunno, sort of weird, don't you think?" He chuckled, though inside, he was a bit envious of Roxas. All of the emotions he "felt" were so much more genuine than the ones he "felt." Grant, his own "emotions" always felt more real when he was around Roxas, but Roxas just seemed... More, real, than the rest of the organization members did. He had the aura of... Of a real human being.

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><p><strong>Idk if Axel likes melting icecream or not. I hate it though, so I passed it on to him. :D <strong>

**I only have like, four drabbles left ;; Well, four full ones. I'll have to squash teh little ones together. I can probably find some more crap to post here though :D Please review guys! I miss all of you!  
><strong>


	11. Merry Christmahanukwanzaaka

**Thank you jcthegirl, Rurira-chan and Domino for your reviews x3**

**I wrote this last year, like, two and a half weeks before xmas. I was going to do a 14 days of xmas (because Xion needs recognition in that at least!), but I was lazy ._. And now Raberba Girl has her own X-mas story (which is adorable, go read it, now), but I decided to post this in here...**

**I had a theme in my 100 Theme Challenge for Axel that was a bit like this.  
><strong>

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><p>I have to admit, I've never been on for the holidays. Valentines day? Created by Hallmark (and no, that has nothing to do with the fact I've never had a girlfriend!). Easter? Meaning destroyed by bunnies and painted eggs (seriously, WTF?). Halloween? Well, actually, I like Halloween. Dressing up, free candy, Tee-peeing people's houses. It's always fun. But Christmas? Meh. Again, a good holiday, with its meaning buried beneath commercials and colored lights. And a happy New Year.<p>

You'd think a castle full of people who lost their hearts would be a little less, I dunno, cheerful? I mean, we aren't even supposed to _feel_ things, so why get all pumped up over some holiday based on joy? Honestly, just when I think I understand these guys, they throw me through another loop…

The castle towers are strung up in multi-colored lights, and the City of Darkness now basks in the rainbow illuminations of our desperate attempts to be jolly. Every available surface of the walls is covered with Marluxia's intricate and –dare I say it –beautiful wreaths, and there is a nice, homey mistletoe dangling over Larxene's door –his last vain attempt to squeeze a kiss out of her. When you walk by Demyx's room, you can hear him rocking out to Christmas songs, either blasting on the radio or humming from his sitar. There's an enormous –holy, freakin, GINORMOUS (I cannot stress how freaking huge the thing is) tree in the Grey Area that twinkles with different colored lights all day and has been adorned with shiny orbs and candy canes and other crappy ornaments Xemnas has collected over the years, with little presents hiding beneath the branches. When you pass Vexen's lab, you can see Zexion and Lexaeus's menorah's glinting in either window (one was gold, one was silver, and they couldn't decide whose to use) and occasionally hear Zexion shouting at Vexen as he tries to teach him how to play dreidel. There's a stocking hung on every member's door, with their number and name on it and everything. Xigbar spends all day in the kitchen, teaching Demyx and Larxene and anyone who's willing to learn how to make gingerbread cookies and sugar cookies and any kind of cookies you can think of. And it's all so sickeningly sweet that I could barf just thinking about it.

We're Nobodies. We don't have hearts. We don't celebrate Christmas, or Hanukah, or Kwanzaa, or Christmahanukwanzaakah, thank you very much. Bah humbug. So I'm a Non-believer. An anti-holiday creep. Oh well.

I guess you could say that, for most of the time I spent in the Organization, I wasn't ready to accept the fact that I would never celebrate Christmas with my family again. I didn't have a reason to celebrate.

That was, until we finally became Organization XIII…

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><p>"Axel! Axel, get up!" The sound of Roxas's overly-excited voice –which was quickly accompanied by Xion's equally ecstatic voice –dragged me from my sleep. Grogging into the world of the living, the first thing I did was look at my watch.<p>

"What are you doing?" I moaned, flopping back over. "It's only 9 o'clock!" Pillows beaned me in the back of the head, hard enough to hurt.

" "Only"!" Xion laughed, chucking another one of my pillows at me.

"Axel! Get up!" Roxas ordered, smacking me with a pillow full of questionable contents.

"Never!" I yawned, pulling a pillow from Xion's hands and tugging it down over my head. "Rule number one in the way of the Axel: Thou shalt never ariseth before noon! Got it memorized?" Roxas groaned, smacking me harder, with his pillow that I was beginning to think was stuffed full of rocks.

"If you don't get up right now, I'll tell Saix you're the one who put out that video of him singing 'All the Single Ladies." Roxas threatened. Now that got my attention. I sprang up, glaring at him with an intensity that never failed to make Demyx piss his pants.

"You wouldn't." I hissed. Note: Roxas is stronger than Demyx.

"Try me." He smirked. Scowling, I dragged myself from the bed.

"Fine. I'm up. Happy?" Roxas scowled right back.

"Uhg. Get dressed at least." Xion and him snickered as I hid in the closet, pulling on my pants and ridding myself of my sleep-shirt (which probably needed to be washed). I came out fully cloaked to find Roxas and Xion parked on my bed, playing with the zipper on one of my pillowcases.

"Alright squirts," I flopped down in between them. "What do you want?" I yawned. My breath tasted terrible in my mouth, and my hair was frizzing a little bit more than usual. I probably smelled terrible too. Uhg, I hated mornings.

"We wanted to tell you about the tree growing in the Grey Area." Xion explained, matter-o-factly. My mind blanked for a second, and the first thing I thought was: Crap, who got in a fight with Marly this time? Then I stopped and thought for a second, a realized: oh yeah. It's _that_ time of year again.

"Oh. You mean the Christmas tree?" I yawned, closing my eyes. "You woke me up for that? Come on guys, they do that every year." Stupid Xemnas and his stupid traditions. Thought he was all cool, strangling some tree with rainbow lights? Way to honor the holiday, dude. Honestly, as the years go by, the true meaning of the holidays gets buried deeper and deeper with each passing tree the Organization chucks out the back door. "What about it?" I opened one eye lazily. Xion and Roxas stared at me with the blankest expressions I'd ever seen. That coming from the zombies. "What?" Roxas blinked, cocking his head to the side in a puppy-like manner.

"Chris… Mus?" He frowned, looking at Xion for support, but finding none.

"What?" I laughed. "Don't tell me you've never heard of Christmas!" The grin I'd stretched across my face lost its elasticity as Roxas and Xion's eyes grew dimmer. "C'mon you two. Please tell me you're joking?" They weren't. I could see it in their eyes. "Crap. You can_not_ be serious."

"What's a Christmas?" Xion asked, taking over Roxas's confused puppy look. Sighing, I rubbed the back of my neck.

"Ugh. You two…" Man, what was I gonna do with them? I'd known getting assigned nanny to Roxas wouldn't be easy, but then they'd just gone and thrown in Xion too (actually, it was more Roxas than anyone who had dragged Xion into the deal, but, whatever).

"What is it Axel?" Roxas asked, eyes wide and excited. Man, he could be so much like his Other sometimes…

"Uh… Christmas is… Well… It's a holiday. What? How could you guys not-" I cut myself off right there, not wanting to be the one to bring it up. That was right. Roxas and Xion didn't remember their past lives, so why would they remember something like Christmas? Sighing, I gazed at the wreath hanging across the hall for help. "Christmas is a holiday that has been destroyed by money and greedy children." I decided. Xion and Roxas's faces fell.

"What do you do for Christmas?" Xion asked curiously.

"Eh. Buy presents for people. Decorate trees. Bake cookies." I shrugged. Roxas quirked an eyebrow.

"Decorate trees? Why?" I shrugged again.

"Who knows? People are weird. Look, Christmas is this big holiday that a lot of people celebrate, and it holds a lot of meaning to most people, but it's become more of a commercial thing to most of the world." I shrugged again. "It's nothing special." To me. Roxas and Xion's little faces fell again, and they both looked somber. Sighing, I rubbed the back of my neck out of habit. Man. How did I explain Christmas to them? I really didn't want to give them the whole "Story of Christmas", whether it be the original or the commercial version...

Making the fatal mistake of Direct Eye Contact, I was assaulted by their Double Puppy Dog Eyes Attack. Wincing, I groaned inwardly. No getting out of this one.

"Alright..." I sighed, sitting up. "Gather round, children. It's story time." The way their eyes lit up was priceless, as they scooted closer, watching intently. "Now, let's see, where should I start..."

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><p><strong>Zexion and Lexaeus were randomly made Jewish because I didn't want to be ignorant of other religions ._. I think I made Luxord celebrate Kwanzaa, too, but I don't think it was mentioned here (which was just a stupid idea to begin with, but hey, I wanted to be inclusive). <strong>

**So... I had this other drabbles fic... Do you think I should have those drabbles migrate over here, and conjoin them?  
><strong>


	12. Ring a Bell

**Thank you or the reviews ^_^ I'm too lazy to check who reviewed XD**

**This is based off of the song "Ring a Bell" by someone who I don't remember the name of ._. It makes me think of Roxas, Axel and Xion. **

**Premise: Roxas somehow comes back. It's a Next Life thing. He goes to Twilight Town in hopes of finding Axel and Xion, and he thinks he has a plan to help them find him.  
><strong>

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><p><em> "Why were we there back to back?<em>  
><em>Why were we there face to face?<em>  
><em>I must be the light when you're in the dark<em>  
><em>If you lose me somewhere, and your tears are in the air<em>  
><em>I will ring a bell until you feel me by your side"<em>

The golden instruments dangled over the town, still and solid like statues. He wondered how long it had been since they had last sang. He glanced at the arches that curved out from the tower, somehow holding the bells up. _How do they even ring all of these?_ Roxas wondered, a bitter feeling creeping through him. If he tried to climb out, he could slip and fall. Even if he managed to get to the one of the bells, how would he ring it without overbalancing? In his mind he saw himself plummeting, spiralling down toward the ground...

Quickly, he shook the thought from his head.

In the center of the room, amidst the cobwebs and the dust, there was one bell hanging in solitude, a series of pulleys attached to the top of it. Eyes following the metal chords, he saw them shoot out the windows, connecting to the rows of bells hanging out there.

_So when it swings, the bells outside will start ringing with it,_ he realized.

Roxas placed his hands on it. He felt the cold metal through his gloves. It gleamed in the dying sun, a flaring orange glow. Glancing out at the sunset, he was hit with waves of nostalgia. He remembered the first time he'd come up here, with the red haired man. The day he'd brought her up here. The first time all three of them had sat here together, talking and watching the sun go down. He swore the taste of icecream still lingered on his tongue.

_What if... They aren't here? What if I was the only one to come back?_

_ What if I'm... Alone?_

Swallowing down his fears, Roxas gave the bell a heavy shove. It swung forward, the ringer inside clanging against the side and letting out a long, clear 'gong'. As it swung back, he leapt out of the way, covering his ears as the ringing filled the hollow tower. A cacophony of clangs, rings and bongs exploded around him, clattering in a way that sounded both obnoxious, yet somehow beautiful at the same time.

Down below, people looked up. A trio of kids on their way home from school stared up at the tower, confused. It wasn't supposed to be ringing this early.

_This is stupid. _he realized, suddenly. Staring at the bell as it came back toward him, he gave it another half-hearted push. It continued to swing, filling the town with its music.

_How will this make a difference? Even if they're alive... What makes me so certain they'd be __here__?_ Roxas swallowed the lump in his throat, trying to ignore the doubt creeping into his mind.

_ Even if they hear the bells, how will they know to come here? How will they know it's me?_

Roxas tried not to think. He didn't want to be logical. He'd rather stand here, placing all of his blinded faith on these bells. Because They would have to be here. They'd have to know. They just would.

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><p><strong>He finds them :D They come up on the other side of the bell when he tries to swing it and it's ":D" all around x3<strong>

**I think I will migrate chaps from Memories :D  
><strong>


	13. Tres Drabbles

**Tanks for teh reviews :3**

**Okay, Ima be slopping som tiny blips together, okay? The first one is about when Roxas asks Axel about best friends. In the game they make it like "I'm upset because Axel couldn't answer my question ;;" in the manga, it's more like "Oh I thought I was your best friend ;;". So, which do you think I chose to write about?**

**The second is a very brief "journal entry" (not really) from Axel about having to choose between Roxas and Xion.**

**The third is a thought process Axel has about his friendship with Saix.  
><strong>

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><p>"Axel?" Roxas asked, turning his head to face him. "What's it like having a best friend?" At this, Xion turned her head too, clearly interested in what he had to say.<p>

It was an honest and innocent question. Axel knew, but none the less it still managed to silence him. Fixing his gaze on one of the buildings in the distance, he focused on the taste of his ice-cream and nothing else. _Isa,_ was what he was trying to think, what he wanted to think, but he forced the name out of his mind and replied blankly to Roxas.

"Dunno. I've never had one." Out of the corner of his eye, he swore he saw something strange flicker across Roxas' face, something that looked almost like disappointment, but he quickly dismissed it. After all, what would Roxas know about having a best friend anyway? He didn't know anything about emotions, about jealousy, love or loss. He didn't know anything.

"Oh. I see." Roxas nodded, once again returning his own gaze to the horizon and taking another bite from his ice-cream. An odd silence fell over the three of them, save for the soft sound of chewing and the familiar clanking of the boxcars as they went by. Xion still hadn't said a word, but she was gazing at Roxas and him with a silent curiosity that bore into them but didn't speak. Roxas didn't seem to notice, and Axel managed to ignore it well enough. The silence was awkward, and Roxas' reaction was starting to get to him...

Part of him wanted to say more. He didn't know what he planned on saying, but the quiet felt as though it were smothering him, threatening him to speak.

The other part, though... The other part just didn't care enough.

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><p>Had a weird dream last night... I was standing in some dark place, alone. Then, suddenly, Roxas and Xion were standing in front of me. they started asking me to choose. At first, I didn't get it. Then I remembered what Saix had told me, and my mind blanked. I couldn't decide. Before I got a chance to think about it, they both vanished. Then... I was alone.<p>

I wonder… Would it be worse to lose them both, or to lose one and go on living knowing I couldn't -didn't- save the other?

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><p>Things never seemed to work out nowadays.<p>

_How could things have gone so wrong, so fast?_ He wondered darkly, staring up at the ceiling in silence; making shapes with the odd cracks above him. _It seems like just yesterday everything was perfect. But now..._ Axel sighed heavily, hoping that by doing so he might remove some of the weight he felt on his chest, but to no avail, he still felt just as heavy as ever. He glanced toward the window, staring out into the darkness. Except it wasn't dark anymore. The sky was illuminated by an enormous heart-shaped moon, but it didn't bring him any comfort as he gazed out into the endless night.

_Why can't I get rid of this feeling? _He wondered, slowly heaving himself out of bed. _It feels like... Someone is pressing down on my chest._

It was late. He knew that, and he knew if he didn't sleep soon he'd regret it the next morning, but there was just too much going on in his mind right now. He had to do something, take a walk; clear his head.

Axel's footsteps were quiet as he walked down the halls, but they still echoed in the eerie silence of night. Everyone else was asleep, except perhaps Saix or Xemnas, but he wasn't interested in seeing them.

_When was the last time I felt like seeing Saix?_ He wondered absent-minded, staring down at his feet as they clomped quietly against the metallic floor. Truthfully, he couldn't recall any recent time when he'd felt the need to see his "old friend." Sure, they'd still met up to discuss their plans to overthrow Xemnas. Thinking about it made the corners of his mouth twitch upward. Isa had always had big dreams, big goals. There were no baby steps with him. It was all or nothing, go big or go home. 'Delusions of Grandeur', he'd called it. At least he'd been able to admit it. No false illusions about himself or who he was. That was one of the things he'd loved about Isa -he knew who he was, even if he didn't always show it.

Now though... Now, Isa was gone. It was just Saix. Cold-eyed, cold-"hearted" Saix. The angry man who'd called Xion broken, who fought with Roxas -a fourteen year old boy, for christ's sake.

"Man, Isa..." Axel murmured, hands in his pockets. "Why did things have to change?"

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><p><strong>And now, the migration begins ._.<br>**


	14. Happy Little Family

**Thanks, jcthegirl, for reviewing :3**

**This is the beginning of the Migration from Memories. Once I get everything over here, it will cease to exist, and only this fic shall remain :3  
><strong>

**I wrote this after talking w/ my friend Fear the silly people about how Xion is like the baby of the KH trio. It's kind of based off the Ouran High School Host Club family relation the characters have.**

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><p>It was a normal day at the clock tower, just the three of us. For once, actually. Lately, all three of us haven't been able to make it up here together. Ever since Roxas and Xion had been paired up for missions to hide the fact that she couldn't use her keyblade, I'd started to see less and less of them. Now though, finally, it was the three of us. I don't know why I was so pleased, though. After all, Roxas was the one who had been so intent on the three of us getting together. I shrugged it off, returning my attention to the conversation that had taken off without me.<p>

"I don't know how much longer we can keep this up." Xion was muttering, with a desolate expression that looked a lot like Roxas's. "Sooner or later... Don't you think Saix is gonna find out?" To my surprise, she looked past Roxas and over at me.

"Eh?"

"We've been at this for almost a week now, Axel." Xion frowned, with her too-real-to-be-my-imagination-sadness in her eyes. "Sooner or later, Saix is going to make Roxas and me go on separate missions again... And then, when he finds out-"

"Cut it out." I heard myself scolding. Xion looked up in surprise. "Come on Xion, don't think that way. Saix isn't going to find out, alright? Get it memorized." Xion -and now Roxas too -stared at me, blue eyes wide like little children.

"Y-You're sure?" Xion asked, her voice small. I grinned.

"Sure I'm sure. I'm Axel. I know everything." Xion sniffled a little bit, a small smile tugging at the edge of her lips. "Just ask Roxas." Roxas snickered, shaking his head.

"He may like to _think_ that -"

"Nuh uh! I know everything. Commit it to memory." Xion giggled a little bit, wiping her nose on her sleeve. Roxas rolled his eyes.

"So... What now?" Xion asked, gazing out at the sunset. I couldn't help but watch her profile as she stared out into the horizon. Man, she looked so much like Namine. Same face, same eyes. The only difference was the hair. Xion's hair was short and black, the perfect contrast to Namine's long blonde hair.

"Whaddaya mean?" Roxas asked, cocking his head a little bit. Xion looked over, almost a little surprised, like she hadn't realized she'd been talking aloud.

"Even if I do get the keyblade back -"

"Which you _will_," I reminded her,

"Even if it does come back, then what? Go back to heart collection, separate missions... What's the point?" Once again, her gaze fell not on Roxas, but on me. I guess she'd believed the 'I know everything' bit.

"Oh, Xion," I sighed, shaking my head. "You poor little incompetent noob." Xion scowled, in a way that was more pouty than Roxas usually did, but it still made me smile. "Am I gonna have to teach you everything too?" I laughed, "It looks like I'll be baby sitting two now, huh?" This made Roxas scowl too.

"Shut up!" He growled, actually crossing his arms. Just like a two-year-old. "We aren't babies, Axel." He reminded me. I nudged him with my foot, knocking him over onto his back.

"Then quit acting like one." I did my best impersonation of one of his scowls, and I must have done pretty good, because Xion laughed, and Roxas looked like he might murder someone. "Fine. You don't have to be the baby anymore." I sighed, which got me a surprised look from the baby-in-question. "I think it's fair to say you've graduated newbdom. Xion, that makes you the baby."

Roxas's face lit up with a grin the exact moment Xion's eyes grew wide with shock.

"What!"

"Don't talk back to me young lady!" I cried, putting on my best imitation of Saix. "I am your father, and you will treat me with respect." I struggled not to laugh as I jabbed a finger at Xion, who was trying hard to keep up the look of a desolate child. Roxas sat snickering next to the balcony, and I turned to him.

"Roxas... Don't encourage her. Aren't you going to help me scold our daughter?" I grinned wickedly as Roxas gaped, much like a fish.

"Wait-What! Since when is she _our_ daughter!" He cried in what looked like a mix of shock and despair.

"If Xion's the daughter and I'm the father, then that makes you the Mommy." Roxas scowled back, his usual response. Xion was giggling hysterically now, having scooted off the balcony so that she wouldn't fall off while laughing.

"Why do I have to be the mom?" Roxas all but wailed.

"Well, I'm the dad! That means you're the girl in this relationship." My face hurt from grinning so hard.

"Since when are we in a relationship?" Roxas threw up his arms in exasperation, falling back and huffing angrily. I looked over at Xion, who was grinning almost as widely as me. I'm not sure why it was, but for some reason we both got such a kick out of making Roxas miserable.

"Come on, _mommy._" Xion laughed, prodding Roxas's shoulder playfully. "You aren't gonna let daddy punish me, are you?" She giggled, looking up at me for a response. Like I said, my grin was already as big as it was going to get. Roxas spared us both a despondent look, then fixed a glare on me.

"I think you should be the mom Axel." He stated.

"Oh really? And why is that, short-stack?" I laughed, looming over him. Roxas shrugged.

"I guess you're just more feminine." He grinned, with a wickedness I could only compare to my own, and Xion's laughter only made it grow wider. "After all, you've got at least a foot of hair up there, and then there's the make-up-" I smacked him upside the head before he could finish.

"You idiot! Those are tattoos!" Roxas yelped, still grinning as he rolled out of the way of my attack, knocking Xion over and making her laugh harder. "Get up here and say that to my face, half-pint!" I snarled, though already it was half-hearted. Xion was nearly breathless with a contagious laughter, and Roxas lay sprawled out over her legs, grinning hugely.

"Wife beater!" He cried, in between laughter, and finally I caved. Falling down next to them, I let the laughter take me.

I'm not sure how long we stayed out there. The sun had gone down long before we'd we'd even begun to think of RTCing. And even after the last lights had died off and the street lamps were starting to flicker on, we were still up there, laughter going strong.

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><p><strong>I've noticed that in a lot of my other KH ficlet things with Axel, Rox and Xion, that I tend to make Axel pay more detailed attention to Xion. here, I think the attention is somewhat more equal. I think it has something to do with me expecting people to ignore Xion for Roxas, so I made sure to pay more attention to her because, well, it's obvious he cares about Roxas, and there are people who are convinced Axel doesn't care about Xion ;;<strong>

**Pwease review?  
><strong>


	15. Chronicles of the Shower Room

**Thanks, jcthegirl, for reviewing :3**

**This is another Memories blip... I made this up after reading the KH manga where the shower rooms are mentioned, and after reading the Novles where it talks about Axel having to help newby Zombie Roxas get dressed. I was caught in a triangle of "Aw :D" "LOL XD" and "Ooooooookaaaayyyy o_o" after that XDD So this was born. For no discernable reason.**

**Brace yourselves. I hope you don't have very vivid imaginations...  
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><p>Axel hated taking showers. He hated getting wet in general, but showers were the worse. Especially in the Castle, where it was always so cold. Getting out was actually painful, and then you had to walk around with wet hair and freeze your butt off until it dried (originally, they'd had hair dryers, until Vexen stole them for one of his crazy experiments, and they'd never been seen again). Usually, Axel avoided taking showers –sure, he smelled funny, but it wasn't like anyone was around him enough to complain.<p>

However, ever since the newbie showed up, Axel was forced to be more diligent about his hygiene and other things like that. Setting a good example for the next generation, and all that jazz… So now, every morning, Axel had to drag Roxas to the shower room. Which meant, he had to take a shower too (he couldn't stand around in the room fully clothed, and he couldn't just walk off and leave Roxas there).

"Hurry it up kid." Axel called, rapping impatiently on the wall. There was no response, but that was normal with Roxas. Still, he was being unusually quiet, even for a zombie. _Maybe he drowned._ Axel snorted. Was it even possible to drown in a shower?

The other members were shuffling about quietly, all wearing either towels or boxers. Zexion, Lexaeus, Marluxia, Luxord and Demyx were some of the few who could drag their rumps out of bed at the crack of dawn to shower before shuffling off to their missions. Axel was not one of these people, which was why he was practically sleeping on his feet, even after having taken his shower. He'd managed to at least get his pants on before nearly dozing off.

He was about to nod off again, when the shower suddenly stopped.

"About time." He grumbled, watching as the towel disappeared over the top of the wall.

Roxas shuffled out a minute later, hazy eyes and messy haired, his towel wrapped tightly around his waist. He stood expectantly before Axel, waiting for direction. "Little zombie…" Axel muttered, giving him a shove toward where his uniform was. "Go on, make it fast!" Axel was an impatient person, in case there was any doubt.

The shower room was as quiet as always, save for the occasional joke from Demyx to Marluxia. At the moment, Demyx was howling the lyrics to the Glee version of "Don't Stop Believin'", a sound that could be compared most easily to a cat being strangled. There was nothing worse than a tone-deaf musician, especially when he believed he was the greatest singer alive.

"Can I borrow some of your deodorant, Marly?" Axel teased as he waited for Roxas to get dressed. Marluxia shot him a suspicious look.

"Why?" Axel never asked to borrow anything from Marluxia.

"Cuz, I wanna smell all girly and pretty like you do." Marluxia scowled as Demyx and Luxord burst into laughter with Axel, Demyx giving the red head a high five.

Zexion yelped from the other side of the room, and Axel looked up, immediately regretting it.

"Oh God!" Turning away, he threw a hand over Roxas's suddenly widened eyes. "Vexen, what the hell are you doing!" Everyone was moaning and doing their best not to look; Zexion had both hands over his eyes, and was standing behind Lexaeus, and Axel had both his hand firmly over Roxas's eyes.

"What?" Vexen seemed confused as he made his way across the room.

"Idiot!" Marluxia cried, hand shielding his own eyes.

"Put a towel on, moron!" Axel practically shrieked, grabbing for his cloak and dropping it over Roxas's head. "Don't even think about taking that off." He warned as Roxas's hands shot up to remove it.

"What's the matter? This is the shower room. There's nothing wrong with it." Vexen shrugged. Everyone sighed, making an effort to get dressed as fast as possible.

"Here's the thing, Vex," Axel growled, pulling on his boots and gloves. "When we come in here, we either wait for you to get done," –Vexen raised an eyebrow, suddenly realizing why he was always in here alone –"Or, if we're in here already, we expect you to wait for us to get done!"

"And not subject us to… This." Luxord groaned, zipping up his cloak and rushing out the exit farthest from Vexen. Vexen huffed angrily, insulted by the lack of respect he got from his colleagues.

"Why I never." He harrumphed, crossing his arms and turning his head up in an indignant fashion.

"Put some pants on, idiot." Axel growled, turning Roxas around and taking his cloak back. "Don't turn around until I say so." Axel muttered, helping him pull his cloak over his head once he'd gotten his gloves on. Vexen gaped.

"I'm not an idiot! I'm a brilliant scientist-" He was cut off by a towel hitting him across the face.

"Get dressed, stupid! There are children in here!" Marluxia scoffed, gliding past toward the exit.

"Seriously dude, you're disgusting." Axel sighed, pulling Roxas's hood down over his eyes so that he wouldn't see anything as he was hurried out of the room.

"Weirdo." Demyx mumbled, rushing out as quickly as possible, followed by the silent Lexaeus guiding Zexion –who still has his hands over his eyes. Vexen stood there alone, moping. It was his typical, "Oh, nobody likes me, I'm so unpopular, why don't they respect me?, blah, blah, blah…" sulk, and as usual, he did it by himself. Poor him.

"What a freak." Axel sighed, shaking his head as he pulled off Roxas's hood. Roxas looked rather disgruntled, and even managed to shoot him a glare before returning to his zombie-like state.

"A bona fide pedophile." Marluxia agreed, sighing.

"He scares me…" Demyx mumbled, zipping up his cloak. He'd been too freaked out to finish dressing in the shower room, and had pulled on his cloak while rushing down the halls.

"Look at the bright side…" Axel began, but paused. "Y'know… I'm not sure what the bright side is to this one." He shrugged. "But, hey. At least we got away from the wacko." He grinned. And so began another day for Organization XIII…

And another trip to the Emo Corner for Vexen.

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><p><strong>Poor Org. Poor, poor Org. I'm so evil XD Hope that didn't scar anyone for life.<br>**


	16. It's Raining Men

**Thanks for the reviews :D Sorry for the prolonged update :/ I was working on other stuff :3**

**This is some weird thingy I wrote for "Kingdom Heartbreak", which is why Xion is talking abotu chapters and bashing the fourth wall to pieces. Oh yeah, and she sings. With Larxene :D Please enjoy.  
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><p>Regular text is Larxene, <em>Italics is Xion, <em>**Bold is Both.**

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><p>"So, Larxene..."<p>

"Yeah?"

"Have you noticed anything... Weird, about these chapters?" Xion asked innocently. Larxene frowned, then shrugged.

"Other than the fact that I'm hanging out with you? No, not really." Xion snorted -as if there had been anything normal! "Why, have you noticed something off?" Xion nodded.

"All these chapters are Guy-centric!" She huffed, crossing her arms. "They're all about the Organization fighting over you and me, or Riku and Sora getting into battles over Kairi. We haven't gotten our chance to shine yet!" She cried, throwing her arms into the air for dramatic effect. Larxene paused, stroking her chin thoughtfully.

"You know what... You're right! The nerve of those guys, hogging the spotlight!" She shrieked, electricity crackling through her hair. Xion sighed sadly.

"I guess we're just not popular enough to get our own chapters..." She mumbled. Larxene laughed coldly.

"Oh _please_, I had my own fan boy following _way_ before you showed up." She smirked coyly. Xion glared indignantly at the blonde, pretending she hadn't heard her.

"It isn't easy living with so many boys..." She sighed, glancing around at all the males as they passed by. Larxene huffed.

"Well, take it from me, kid," She grinned wickedly, "In this sort of situation, you've got to turn the tables to your advantage." Xion cocked her head like a confused puppy.

"What do you mean?"

"It's simple. We're the only girls in the Organization. Which means these guys aren't getting a lot of action. You following me?" Xion frowned, shaking her head slowly. Sighing, Larxene pushed on. "Look... Instead of being upset that we're the only girls, you gotta be proud. We're the only females in a group of guys, which means, _we've_ got power. Capiche?" She grinned. Xion nodded slowly, a smile creeping over her face.

"Yeah! We can bend all these guys to our will!" She cheered.

"Atta girl!" Larxene smirked. "Those guys may not know it, but we're on top! While they keep hounding after us, we're the ones who get our choice of guy." She grinned, scanning the room. "And from the looks of it, we _do_ have a rather nice array, wouldn't you say?" Xion giggled, nodding. "In fact... This may just be the crack fic going to my head, but I sense a musical number coming on!" The power of fanfiction possessing the two girls, Xion and Larxene took a Dark Portal to the two highest chairs. The room went dark, and filled with music.

"What the hell?"

"Oh God! The apocalypse! It's here, I knew this day would come, _I knew it! I-_ Ow~!"

"Shut up Vexen."

"Oh man, the voices are back!" Several people screamed and stumbled around in the dark, until two spotlights shot down, illuminating Xion and Larxene where they stood.

"Axel?" Roxas tugged on the man's sleeve. "What's going on?"

"Haven't you ever watched Glee, kid? They're gonna sing." Axel grinned. The music got louder, and the girls stepped forward.

"_Hi -_"

"Hi! We're your Weather Girls -"

"_Ah-huh -"_

"And have we got news for you -"

_"You better listen!"_

"Get ready, all you lonely girls, and leave those umbrellas at home."

"_Alright!"_

"Humidity is rising,"

"_Barometer's getting low,"_

"According to all sources, the street's the place to go,"

"_Cause tonight for the first time,"_

"Just about half-past ten,"

"_For the first time in history,"_

"It's gonna start raining men."

"It's Raining Men!

"_Hallelujah!"_

"It's Raining Men!"

_"Amen!"_

"I'm gonna go out to run and let myself get, absolutely soaking wet! It's Raining Men!" "_Hallelujah!"_

"It's Raining Men!"

_"Every Specimen! Tall, blonde, dark and lean,"_

"Rough and tough and strong and mean"

**"God bless Mother Nature, she's a single woman too; she took off to heaven and she did what she had to do:"**

"She taught every angel to rearrange the sky,"

_"So that each and every woman could find her perfect guy!"_

"It's Raining Men!"

_"Hallelujah!"_

"It's Raining Men!"

"_Amen!"_

**It's Raining Men! Hallelujah!**

**It's Raining Men! Ame-nnnn!**

"I feel stormy weather, moving in about to begin."

_"Hear the thunder, don't you lose your head,"_

"Rip off the roof and stay in bed!"

- Axel gasped. "Larxene!" The blonde shot him a laser glare.

"Shut up." -

"**God bless Mother Nature, she's a single woman too**

**She took off to heaven and she did what she had to do**

**She taught every angel to rearrange the sky**

**So that each and every woman could find her perfect guy**

**It's Raining Men! Yeah!"**

"Humidity is rising,"

"_Barometer's getting low,"_

"According to all sources, the street's the place to go,"

"_Cause tonight for the first time,"_

"Just about half-past ten,"

"_For the first time in history,"_

"It's gonna start raining men."

**"It's Raining Men! Hallelujah! - It's Raining Men! Amen!**

**It's Raining Men! Hallelujah! - It's Raining Men!" **

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><p><strong>This idea came from Fear the Silly People. Song isn't mine, neither is Larxene or (sadly) Xion. Or the other orgies.<br>**


	17. Equivalent Axchange

**I HAVEN'T UPDATED THIS IN FOREVER. REVIEW PEOPLE, DAMMIT. JK, but seriously, reviews are always encouraging :D I like to know how I can get better :3**

**Anyway, here's some more fluffy Axel Roxas crap. I wrote this back in the time of Axel Roxas Drabbles. And it totally mentions stuff from Fullmetal Alchemist XD Because that is how I roll.  
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><p>Isa and Saix were like two sides of the same coin. And while I had memorized the Isa side, the Saix side was a whole new ball game. There were a lot of things about Saix that were the same as they'd always been: the silence, the OCDness he got about schedules and time, and the calm calculative air about him. But where Saix was icy, bitter and sarcastic, Isa was much warmer. He was open to the ideas of others, and he was willing to admit he didn't know everything. Isa had been curious, he'd wanted to learn more about the world. Now, Saix was as stubborn as hell, and refused to believe that others knew better than he did.<p>

Where I'd once known Isa like the back of my hand, now, it was the same with Roxas. I'd memorized him: his smile, his laugh, the genuineness of all his emotions. There was the way he scowled whenever you called him a kid, and that defensive fierceness he got around Saix whenever he was talking down on Xion. And of course, that zombie-like trance he'd go into whenever he was thinking; his eyes would get all hazy as he focused on a blank space, and he'd get a serious, solemn look on his face as his mind churned silently. He always waited too long to eat his ice cream so that he had to eat it fast before it melted all over him, and he got depressed real easy, especially when he was alone. I could read Roxas like a book, and I had. There wasn't a page I hadn't memorized.

"What were you like as a Somebody, Axel?" Roxas asked, a relaxed smile on his face as he licked some dribbles from his melting ice cream. I frowned at the question, not really wanting to get into it.

"Same guy, more or less." I replied, and Roxas sighed, taking a bite from his snack.

"That's what you always say." He mumbled, his mouth full.

"Swallow before you talk, or you'll choke." I chuckled, sighing. "You can ask me a million times Roxas, and the answer will always be the same." I reminded him, and he sighed back, taking another bite from his ice cream and gazing contemplatively out at the sunset. For a while we just sat there, masked in a comfortable silence, until finally Roxas spoke again.

"How were you the same?" He asked, and I sighed heavily, falling backwards and closing my eyes. "Axel?" Even though my eyes were closed, I knew Roxas had turned his head to fix a solemnly curious gaze on me, and I placed my arm over my eyes in aggravation.

"I'm tryin' to remember, 'kay?" I grumbled. "Just gimme a second." I swore I could hear the satisfied smile as it slid across his face.

I didn't have to try to remember my past life. Memories like that just don't leave you alone: they haunt you every day and force their way into your mind through every crack in your defenses. You couldn't ignore them, so you had to embrace them or just live with them nagging your conscience every second of every day.

Ever since I'd met Roxas, I'd started to prefer the latter.

"I looked pretty much the same." I said finally, and I could almost see the irritated frown on Roxas' face, because I knew that wasn't what he was looking for. "Same hair, same face… My eyes were a little darker though… Oh, and I was a lot shorter." Pulling my arm away, I peeked at Roxas and sneered. "But I was still taller than you, half-pint." Roxas' eyes widened, and he scowled darkly at me. Laughing, I continued. "Huh… Lessee, what else was the same?" I tried to think of ways to compare myself to Lea. "I was still awesome in every way." I grinned.

"I'm guessing you were still an ego-maniac too?" Roxas chuckled, and I pushed him lightly with my foot.

"Yeah, sure." I scowled back. "As for differences… Well, my taste in fashion left something to be desired…" I cringed inwardly as I remembered the outfits Lea had put together.

"What do you mean?" Roxas asked, his blue eyes glowing with curiosity. I could almost see the gears in his mind turning wildly as he tried to imagine what I must have looked like.

"I was a very flamboyant child." I grinned, chuckling. "Very expressive, very… Colorful." I laughed, and Roxas grinned. "Hey, wipe that smile of your face! You don't exactly have a great sense in fashion either, checker-board boy." I smirked, and Roxas fell silent, scowling darkly at me. I laughed, closing my eyes.

"I can't help what I was wearing when I came here." He muttered, his voice full of scowl and pout.

"Oh get over yourself, it was just a joke!" I laughed. I was starting to wish Xion were here to help me out. The third opinion always helped to balance things out. Xion was good at playing mediator between Roxas and me, siding with one to help the other out, and then switching sides sporadically whenever she thought it was a good time.

"Did you have any friends as a Somebody?" Roxas asked, his mood lightening considerably. He seemed to have just noticed the last bits of his ice cream –which were now a puddle on his glove –and was attempting to clean up the mess with his tongue.

"Nope. I was a friendless loser." I replied sarcastically, shooting him a nasty grin. "Of course I had friends! I'm not an anti-social zombie like some people I know." Roxas glared at me, then smirked wickedly.

"Xion won't be very happy when she finds out you've been talking about her like that." He grinned, and I shoved him, laughing hard enough that my sides were starting ache a bit.

"Dude, not cool!" I tried to scowl at him, but the laughter prevented it.

"What was your friend like?" Roxas asked curiously, once the laughter had subsided. I frowned, closing my eyes. How did I explain Isa to Roxas?

"He was a lot like you." I decided, yawning. I opened one eye lazily, just in time to see Roxas' blue eyes grow wide in surprise. He fixed his gaze on me like a laser, waiting for me to continue. "He was kind of quiet, very serious, but he was always thinking." I smiled sadly, my memories bittersweet.

"About?" Roxas pushed, still curious, which only made him seem more like Isa.

"Everything. The world, the worlds, people and heartless." I swung my arms out wide, trying to gesture to everything. "He was curious, like you. He was never satisfied with what people told him. He always had to know more." I grinned, my eyes narrowing as I jabbed verbally at Roxas. He didn't seem to take the hint, so I continued. "He was also pretty solemn, just like you. He was a little zombie-ish maybe, but not as much as you are." I grinned. This time, Roxas scowled, but he continued to listen intently.

"He was addicted to order, and things always had to be on time." I smiled wryly. "He hated being late for anything, and he was always nagging me for messing up his schedule." Roxas laughed at this.

"Sounds like Saix." He grinned, and I forced myself to laugh back, though I couldn't bring myself to look at him.

"Yeah… I guess so." I muttered quietly.

"Do you think he misses you?" Roxas asked suddenly, his voice quiet. This question took me by surprise, and when I looked over at him, I saw a familiar solemnity in his eyes as he watched me. Frowning, I turned away again, thinking silently of Saix. Did he miss me? Did he miss Lea, and the way things used to be?

"Probably not as much as you'd think." I mumbled, closing my eyes. "But, hey, you lose one thing, you gain another, right?" I smiled wryly. The look in Roxas' eyes told me this confused him.

"You ever heard about equivalent exchange?" I asked, yawning. Roxas shook his head, so I pushed on. "It's like this: to get something, you've gotta give something of equal value. I lost that friend, sure, but I got you and Xion instead." I smiled, opening my eyes again. "I guess I got more than I bargained for there, huh?" I grinned. Roxas frowned for a moment, and then turned to face the horizon, his eyes clouding over.

Shuffling about, I forced myself to sit up, looking out at the sunset. Here in Twilight town, the sun never got very high, and it sank pretty slowly. It was still sinking down over the hills, and it looked ready to dip down.

"It's getting pretty late. Don't you think we should head back?" I asked, but Roxas didn't respond. He hadn't stopped staring at the sunset since my spiel about equivalent exchange, and I starting to wonder… Had I said something that he'd taken the wrong way? "You okay?" I asked quietly.

"You know… You're lucky." Roxas said finally, sighing quietly. "I wish I could remember something, or anything, about my life from before."

"Ah, so that's what this is about." I smiled sadly at him. I should have known that was why he'd asked me about my life.

"You know how you were talking about equivalent exchange?" Roxas' solemn look was starting to shift into a smile. "I wonder if it applies for every Nobody? I mean, I lost my heart, I lost my old life, I lost my memory, and anything else I'd had before I became a Nobody… But…" He smiled, glancing over at me. "I guess it was worth it." He smiled. I laughed bitterly, shaking my head at his logic.

"How do you figure THAT?" I chuckled. Roxas looked up at me in that solemn way of his and smiled his genuine smile.

"If I hadn't become a Nobody, I never would have met you." It took me a minute to get over the utter shock that came with what Roxas had just said. Once I did though, I suddenly felt a warm glow in my chest, and I couldn't help but smile back at him. If I'd had a heart, it probably would have melted.

"Roxas…" That kid, that wonderfully sappy and naïve kid, "Y'know… You're a pretty great guy yourself." I smiled, leaning back and closing my eyes. I didn't have to open them to know that he was grinning too.

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><p><strong>LEA WAS FLAMBOYANT. And Isa wanted them to take over the world :D Anf it was awesome. God, why did I have to lose that drabble to the computer? I also had one about Xion finding a feather boa, Axel stealing it and wearing it and asking them if it made him look "Uber sexy hawt." I wish I still had it... *sighs*<br>**


	18. Unversed

**Wooo! Finally found some other drabbles to post up here :D It's been awhile, hasn't it? I bet you though this was dead ;3 And it was ._. Until I found some Lea and Isa crap from my scrapped story, and decided- hey, why not post dis stuff? And so, for the next few days, ye shall be blessed with Lea and Isa's presences. **

**This takes place around when isa first met lea. Lea's world got destroyed by teh Heartless, so he's a n00b in Radiant Garden.  
><strong>

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><p>The small black thing inched forward, its pointed head cocked almost curiously as it watched us with narrowed eyes.<p>

I could feel my heart seizing up, the panic clinging all around me. Crap. Oh God, it was them. They were here. Blood was roaring in my head, and the only sound I could hear was that of my hammering heart.

"Oh, great." Isa muttered, showing off his trademarked frown. "The Unversed." Unversed? Battling down the urge to take off screaming, I glanced over at him. "Come on, Lea. Let's get out of here." I was amazed at how incredibly calm he was. Didn't he know what these things could do?

He walked past me silently, the creatures still eying him. And me. I didn't move. I couldn't move. My feet were frozen in place. My mind whirred, but it didn't seem to receive the terrified commands that ordered it to get the hell out of there.

"Lea, let's go." Isa said again, still ridiculously calm. But there was something else hidden there, beneath the calm: Fear. He was scared too. But I doubted he was as terrified as me. A hand fell on my shoulder, and I turned to see Isa standing there, a firm look in his eyes. "We have to get out of here, okay?" The way he said it reminded me of an adult talking to a child, trying to look calm so the kid wouldn't freak out. Slowly, I nodded, struggling to swallow the lump in my throat. I was shaking like crazy, and to tell the truth, I felt like a total idiot.

"U-Uh-huh." Slowly, I peeled my feet from the ground, walking shakily after him. He was so damn calm, so unmoving, like some statue. Sure, he hadn't seen what I'd seen, but those things were freaking terrifying!

There was a sound behind me, and I turned my head to look back. All I saw was a quick flash of color, blackish-blue, and the next thing I knew I was on the ground. That thing –the Unversed –was _on me_. It was _on my face_. Screaming –quite loudly –I flung it off me.

"Lea!" Isa's voice shouted behind me. I ignored it, tearing my Frisbees from their strap and flying at the little beast. It watched me with those angry eyes, watched as I dug into it and tore it apart. Darkness bubbled up around it, taking it down, and I watched with a sick satisfaction as it died. Laughing nervously, I lowered myself to my knees, heart still roaring inside me. Oh God, oh God, oh dear God that thing could have killed me!

"Lea!" Isa was behind me, pulling on my shoulder. I looked up nervously, aware of the stinging feeling behind me eyes. No, I was _not_ going to cry in front of Isa, not a chance. I forced a grin, aware of how tight my grip on my Frisbees was. I didn't dare let go of them. "What the heck _was_ that?" Isa cried, something that looked like rage in his eyes.

"You- You said it was called an Unversed-" He cut me off, shaking his head.

"No, not that!" He snapped, and I swallowed again. Isa let out an exasperated sigh, and I had a sneaking suspicion that he had a special sigh of pure irritation that he saved just for me. "That was a close one. Why didn't you listen to me?" He frowned, glaring at me. I shrugged, a difficult task when I was quivering like a leaf.

"Dunno." Isa glared, waiting for more, but I wasn't willing to elaborate. He sighed, muttering something along the lines of "You're hopeless" and getting up.

"Come on, let's get out of here before more show up." Those few words were enough to scare the living crap out of me, and I all but leapt to my feet, scampering fearfully after him. "Why so jumpy?" He almost chuckled, the closest I'd ever heard him to laughing.

"What are you talking about?" I scowled, glancing back over my shoulder nervously every few seconds, just to make sure those things weren't still there. When I looked back at Isa, I saw the smallest excuse for a smile I'd ever seen on his face. But, it was there. He shrugged.

"That's the most scared I've ever seen you." I forced a grin.

"No way!" I laughed, reluctantly strapping my Frisbees to my belt. "I was not scared." Hah, like anyone would buy that. Isa smirked, chuckling again.

"Right. If you say so." He turned, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he walked ahead. I strayed several feet behind, still glancing back every now and then, just to be sure.

Those things… The Unversed, or whatever Isa had called them, reminded me painfully of that accursed night, yet something about them was… Different, then the monsters I'd seen before. For one thing there was the shape, and the color, and even the movement, but that wasn't all. There was also… I dunno, the _vibe_ that they gave off. Those monsters that had attacked the Center Piece, they had this aura of darkness, of evil. These things didn't feel that way. When that Unversed leapt at me, all I felt was fear. No oppressing darkness, no suffocating evil, just terror. The Unversed and the monsters that had attacked my world were not the same things, I decided, trotting to catch up with Isa.

But if the Unversed hadn't been the ones to destroy the Center Piece… Then what had?

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><p><strong>I used to have lots of great Lea and Isa drabbles... But all my best ones were eated by my computer. The one where they plotted world domination, and another fun one where they ran around in the fountains in RG and Lea got Isa's notebook wet. This was all I managed to save my my Dinosaur Computer (rest it's comppie soul) ;-;<strong>


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